OURAN HIGH SCHOOL HOST CLUB: A NEW UNDERDOG?
by arekisandora07
Summary: The Ouran High School Host Club thought that a ghost appeared in Music Room 3 that rainy afternoon. At some point, they may be right about it. But who would've thought that this "ghost-like" being will be entering their lives, making everything upside down? Ratings may be altered, in case; O.C. included
1. PROLOGUE

**PROLOGUE**

A bolt of lightning instantly flashed into the dark afternoon sky.

Then, thunder roared mightily as dark nimbus clouds continue floating and covering the firmament entirely.

In a few seconds, the grand clock tower rang loudly, signaling 5:00.

As the clock tower chimed many times, the rain began to pour down. Those raindrops never ceased falling heavier and harder as minutes went by.

Lightning. Thunder. Rain.

Surely, the students of Ouran Academy will find it difficult to get home. Most of them weren't able to bring umbrellas and obviously, they don't want to go home walking or running in the rain. On the bright side, some of them brought umbrellas. They started walking on the school grounds, approaching the main gate.

The clock tower stopped ringing. But the rain went on falling down.

* * *

"Alright, time's up, ladies."

The girls inside Music Room 3 let out a cry as Kyouya signaled them. They stood up and thanked the seven good-looking hosts before leaving the music room.

As usual, the hosts bade farewell, thus, ending the business of the Ouran High School Host Club for today.

After the girls left, the seven hosts let out a sigh of relief and went to their respective places.

Kyouya sat down on the red couch facing a garnished narra-made table and put his laptop on it. As always, his eyes were fixed on the radiating screen while typing with fast speed. Honey and Mori took their seats and enjoyed their afternoon snack: strawberry cake and Earl Gray tea.

"Yum! Strawberry cake is the best!" Honey exclaimed.

Mori simply agreed with what Honey said and ate quietly.

Haruhi sat between the Hitachiin twins on the long red sofa. Hikaru and Kaoru were busy doing "business", making Haruhi a little bit disturbed and somewhat annoyed after seeing the twins whispering with one another.

"What are you guys talking about?" Haruhi asked, her one eyebrow raised suspiciously.

"Can we ask you a favor?" the twins said altogether.

"What favor?" Haruhi said.

Hikaru and Kaoru let out their playful grins and put their arms around Haruhi.

"Can we come over to your house this Sunday evening? Let's have nabe (hot pot) for dinner!" they said, their eyes looking at Haruhi expectantly.

Haruhi let out a chuckle and nodded.

"Sure, why not? My Dad won't be home this weekend, so I think you guys can hang out in our place."

Tamaki's eyes were blazing with fury as he looked at the Hitachiin twins devilishly. Suddenly he jumped out and grabbed Haruhi away from the twins' hold. For sure, Tamaki's using his overprotectiveness (again) towards Haruhi.

"GET YOUR HANDS OFF OF MY LITTLE GIRL, YOU TWO!" Tamaki blurted.

"Tamaki-sempai, s-stop hugging me. I-I can't breathe…" Haruhi protested, gasping for air.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Haruhi!" Tamaki exclaimed as he let go of Haruhi and laughed awkwardly.

"Does this mean that we're going too, Haru-chan?" Honey interrupted as he ran towards the brown-haired female, embracing her like a stuffed toy.

Haruhi couldn't resist smiling when she looked at Honey's face. She patted the short male's head gently and laughed. "Of course, Honey-sempai! Mori-sempai can come as well."

Mori walked towards Haruhi and Honey. "Thank you for inviting us, Haruhi."

Haruhi shrugged her shoulders, grinning. "No problem, Mori-sempai. All of you are always welcome to visit our house...I think."

"Rest assured that we will never give you burden when we get there, Haruhi. Since you will be our host on that day, giving you such trouble on our part wouldn't be nice." Kyouya said.

"Thanks, Kyouya-sempai. At least, we'll be eating nabe together." Haruhi said.

As the Host Club were in the middle of their "little" celebration, the lights suddenly went off.

"Gyah!"

Everybody gasped in fright as they found themselves in the middle of the dark. The day's going to be over and the night will come in a couple of minutes or so.

Suddenly, lightning bolted in an instant. Thunder came next.

"AHHH!"

"HARUHI!"

Everybody started to panic dreadfully. That striking bolt of lightning scared them to death, especially Haruhi, who was known having a terrible fear of thunderstorms. Realizing that Haruhi's beginning to get stiff and unable to move, the rest of the Host Club members guided her to the long sofa.

Haruhi sat on the sofa, trembling.

"Get my headphones and my phone in the bag, Kaoru." Hikaru commanded his younger twin brother while holding Haruhi's shoulders. Kaoru left hurriedly.

Tamaki took out a big blanket, wrapping it around Haruhi. Afterwards, he soothingly rubbed Haruhi's back with his palms, trying to comfort the struck female.

Honey and Mori looked for some flashlights at the emergency kit which Kyouya had prepared in times like this. Fortunately, they found seven small flashlights on that small kit. The two males ran back with the flashlights, and then gave one to each of the Host Club members.

Kaoru came back with the headphones and Hikaru's phone. He wore the headphones onto Haruhi to cover her ears. In a while, Haruhi's body stopped shaking.

"T-Thank you, guys…" Haruhi uttered, her voice wavering in fear.

"Don't worry, Haruhi. We're here with you." they said to her softly.

As the Host Club went still on their seats, they heard a rumbling sound. It was followed by a soft creak coming out of nowhere.

"W-What is that s-sound?" Honey said frightfully, holding Mori's hands tightly.

Everybody gazed their eyes at the main door. Much with their surprise, they noticed that the door is open.

The cold wind instantly blew on their faces, sending such shivers to their skins.

Tamaki's eyes went wide. "L-LOOK A-AT T-THAT…"

Gradually, the Host Club noticed a strange silhouette approaching. It moved slowly, making its way to the main door.

In a blink of an eye, the door slammed. Darkness was everywhere.

"AHHHHHHHH!" everybody shouted.

As everybody shouted with terror, they heard tingling, sharp sounds around them. The door opened again, this time, the wind blew harder.

However, they heard a shrieking voice as well. The voice sounded so…appalling and cold, that they all thought of one thing:

"GHOST! GHOST!"

"THERE'S A GHOST IN THE MUSIC ROOM!"

As these terrifying screams were heard inside the music room, the lights went on. The power came back to normal.

It was then that the Host Club, with their horrified faces, started staring at an unknown individual, sulking on one corner of the room just beside the main door.

Then there was dead silence.

The clock tower struck again. It's already 6:00 P.M.


	2. A Supernatural Encounter?

A peaceful afternoon at Ouran Academy...the weather was sunny.

Except that noises were audibly heard inside the classroom of Class 1-A.

It looks like the entire class in in the middle of an important meeting. Sadly, the students cannot stop making noise. The class teacher in their last subject was absent for days due to a terrible cold...apparently their instructor's absence signaled a great "celebration" for the class.

While the students are busy chatting and talking with their peers, they heard the door opened. They noticed an individual entering the room with fair, heavy footsteps. As they stared at that person closely, a sudden electrifying aura caught them in no time, thus causing them to shake terribly. For some reasons, they cannot explain what's going on.

As a result, the "lively" ambiance got spooky and eerie. No one dared to talk, their mouths shut and their eyes opened wide. Even the lights just went off abruptly. The annoying noise permanently faded. Not a thing was heard, except with those footsteps...until it had gone with the wind.

The awkward silence took almost five minutes before one of the students inside that classroom started talking.

"OK, I suppose that we can start the meeting...without any interruptions." a stern voice said.

It was the class president, Kazukiyo Soga, wearing a frustrated look upon his face. It must be the noise that annoyed him badly all the while (However, the presence of that certain young woman, who was now taking her seat, had gone him insane...mentally speaking...). And so, he took out a folder and made the class roll call.

The class vice president, Momoka Kurakano, went towards the quiet girl, handing a white sheet of paper to her.

"Uhmm...you must be our new classmate, right? Here, please fill up this personal data sheet; it's for our class record." Momoka said and bowed before walking away.

The silent young lady looked at the sheet of paper. She sighed and took out a pen from her bag, and then started writing.

The roll call was almost done until Momoka went towards Kazukiyo, her face seemed to be filled with doubt.

"Soga-san, Haru-kun and the Hitachiin twins aren't here." she said.

Soga nodded in response, taking the folder from Momoka's hands.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you. They sent me an excuse slip yesterday evening. Seems like they aren't feeling well...that's what they said in their letters." he explained and marked "A" next to the aforementioned names.

Momoka sighed sadly. "I hope Haru-kun's feeling better now."

Kazukiyo looked at Momoka and let out a small smile. "Don't worry, I'm sure Haru-kun and the others will be fine. Let's get on with the meeting for now."

* * *

"WHAT THE HECK IS THIS? N-NO...THIS ISN'T POSSIBLE! NO! NO! NO! MY FACE IS ENTIRELY RUINED!"

"Tamaki-sempai, don't be so exaggerating. Those are just eye bags."

"EYE BAGS...EYE BAGS! THAT'S THE POINT! I DON'T WANT TO HAVE THESE...T-THESE...THESE...THESE EYE BAGS UNDERNEATH MY EYES!"

"Geez...I really hate rich people. They always care about their looks, but they care about it ALL the time."

Haruhi let out a heavy sigh as she looked at a panicking Tamaki, looking at himself in the mirror with a horrified face. No wonder why Tamaki was like that since yesterday. He can't stop himself from looking at his reflection in the mirror for the umpth time; feeling so agitated and frightful with his face...those awful eye bags have surely got the hell out of him. Tamaki looked like a zombie, his face was pale and his eyes, which seemed to be lively and stunning all the time, lost their spark.

The brown-female stared at her watch.

"THREE-THIRTY P.M." she thought.

Haruhi wondered, her arms folded snugly.

"How long we've been here in the music room, anyway?"

Her big brown eyes looked around the music room. She just realized that the Host Club had been here for...almost three days.

"Man...I hope my Dad's not going to kill me when I get home." she muttered, though she already called her father yesterday, saying that she won't be coming home for a few days because of an important school project.

Haruhi never intended to make such an excuse, but she can't just leave the music room and the Host Club in a time like this.

She remembered: "Ever since that afternoon, we never dared leaving the music room..."

Fortunately, they are prepared. Recently, they made some improvements in the music room in cases of emergencies, unexpected school events and the like. Tamaki had come up with the "72-Hour Kit" plan. They have food, extra clothes and many other things which they could use for three days.

Haruhi never felt worried about everything...except for her friends, which were now meddling in their business.

She noticed Honey and Mori having their afternoon tea on one side of the room. This time, Honey had his large pastry set in front of him. She wondered how long Honey had been eating sweets. Since this morning, perhaps? For Haruhi, one thing is for sure: Honey cannot seem to move on after the incident occurred in this music room. He was frightened; Haruhi can still remember how Honey's face looked like that time when the short blonde male embraced Mori tightly after what happened that day. From that moment on, Honey never let go of his hold from Mori. On the brighter side, Mori has managed to keep his composure, despite that he too got scared at what happened. He's been there to comfort his cousin and he never left him.

Haruhi gazed her attention to the Hitachiin twins, Hikaru and Kaoru. Ever since that day, she recognized that the twins never stopped playing board games on one corner of the room, just a couple of meters away from her position. She smiled, thinking that the two must have been having a rough time getting by with their fears. Though it wasn't that obvious, Haruhi felt that the twins were trying to conceal it...just by looking at their trembling hands as they play "Checkers" from a short distance...they still feel afraid. Now that she thought of it, she looked at the twins and then to Tamaki, who was now sulking in solace.

"Looks like Hikaru and Kaoru don't want to play pranks on Tamaki and his eye bags today..." she thought.

This time, Haruhi recognized Kyouya in front of her, busy typing on his laptop. Her smile faded, replaced by a skeptic look.

"Kyouya-sempai...did he got scared as well?" she wondered, staring at the man cautiously. By the looks of it, Kyouya's usual stern face is present. She wondered if Kyouya had never been afraid at all. Maybe, he is just trying to hide his fear, Haruhi thought.

Yet, Haruhi laughed at herself secretly. She got scared as well; she can't deny it. Aside that she went stiff when that thunderstorm came, she got terrified at the "deadly" experience that the Host Club had that afternoon. Even though she's not afraid of ghosts or anything supernatural, what they had witnessed had gotten her.

For the first time, she had seen one...maybe...

She shook her head and looked at the afternoon sky. Fortunately, the weather seemed fine. Hues of blue, violet, yellow, red and black have mixed altogether, creating the color of a beautiful afternoon sky.

For now, Haruhi thought of one thing: She must go home later.

* * *

Haruhi slowly shook her head and went on her way home. She yawned and looked at her watch, telling her that it's already seven in the evening. The female let out a sigh as she finally reached the main gate of the apartment.

Just as she was about to open the gate, she heard a sound.

A gasp, to be specific.

Haruhi slowly turned around and noticed an individual standing beside the light post, uttering a shocked expression. She looked down to the ground and saw many strawberries scattered under the person's feet. She can barely see the person's face; however, she firstly noticed the person's waist-long ebony hair. The light coming from the post had been directly spotted onto the individual's temple.

Without hesitation, Haruhi ran towards the person and picked up all the strawberries on the ground.

"Miss, here are your strawberries." Haruhi said politely, smiling.

The unknown female bowed her head and took the strawberries from Haruhi one at a time. Then, Haruhi took out a paper bag from her bag pack and gave it to the lady.

"Take this." Haruhi said.

The lady never said anything, instead she bowed again and ran away, leaving Haruhi standing by the post.

* * *

"All done!"

Haruhi set her books aside, arranging them nicely onto her study table. Then, she went to bed and lay down. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply.

Then, she thought, "Come to think of it...that incident happened three days ago..."

* * *

**FLASHBACK:**

_Morning._

_Haruhi was on her way to the classroom when two people instantly grabbed her. She gasped, until she noticed the Hitachiin twins holding her hands, smiling at her._

_"Good morning, Haruhi!" Hikaru and Kaoru greeted in chorus._

_"Good morning." Haruhi greeted back._

_The three walked together, silent._

_It was then that Haruhi decided to break the silence. She looked at Hikaru who was walking on her left, and Kaoru walking on her right side. With a deep breath she asked the twins directly._

_"How are the others doing right now?"_

_Hikaru shrugged his shoulders and sighed heavily._

_"Well, it's obvious that the Boss can't seem to get over with the prank that we did to him yesterday, so he hasn't come to school today. Honey-sempai and Mori-sempai were at the school laboratory, while Kyouya called us this morning, saying that he will visit Tono and see what he's doing."_

_Haruhi's eyes twitched a little. "Obviously, it's your fault for scaring Tamaki-sempai like that. You know that he's a scarey-cat."  
_

_"Just chill out, Haruhi. Tono will get over it. Besides, he insisted us to let him sneak at the box that we showed to him. We simply showed Boss what's inside it. " Kaoru said, laughing.  
_

_"Man, these twins..." Haruhi thought in slight irritation as she heard the twins giggling by themselves..  
_

_"By the way, I've heard that we have a new classmate." Kaoru said, startling the two when he abruptly changed the subject._

_"Really? I wonder who our new classmate is." Hikaru said, his face seemed curious._

_Haruhi just looked at the twins and gave them a push on their backs._

_"Let's hurry up, guys or else, we'll be late." she said._

* * *

_The day went on.  
_

_Music Room 3 is once again filled with dashing female students of Ouran Academy. Rose petals falling everywhere and a soothing, striking ambiance welcomed them openly._

_For today, the Ouran High School Host Club is open for business._

_The girls can't help but to fall in love with the seven individuals who make up the most famous club at Ouran Academy; their good looks and exceptional talent of "hosting" their "clients" have brought the name of the Host Club in good reputation and fame. And it's quite easy to see that they enjoy being with the Host Club's warm company...  
_

_However, for the club newcomer and the one who holds the so-called "Natural Type Host" title, Haruhi Fujioka sees this as something bizarre and rather stupid. If it wasn't for the debt that she's trying to clear out, regarding the ¥8,000,000 vase which she accidentally broke, she was supposed to be out there, studying hard to rank first in class and to maintain her scholarship.  
_

_As the hosts were busy entertaining the guests, Haruhi went to the pantry and took a glass of cold water._

_She sighed, thinking that this day will brought her another migraine. As always, she had to deal with those rich people though she perfectly knows that some of them aren't that nice at all, and obviously...she doesn't like to deal with those kind of persons._

_While in the middle of her break, Honey came in, looking at Haruhi with concern._

_"Haru-chan, are you feeling well?"_

_Haruhi set the glass aside, facing Honey with a smile._

_"Yes, I'm fine, Honey-sempai. Since there aren't any guests looking for me, I decided to take a break." she said, glancing at the scenario outside the pantry._

_Honey took Haruhi's hand, staring at her with his adorable eyes._

_"Let's eat strawberry cake, Haru-chan! Please..." Honey said._

_Haruhi laughed and held the short male's shoulder._

_"Sure, Honey-sempai. Let's go."_

_"YEHEY!" the cute blonde male exclaimed, pulling Haruhi out of the pantry._

* * *

_A bolt of lightning instantly flashed into the dark afternoon sky._

_Then, thunder roared mightily as dark nimbus clouds continue floating and covering the firmament entirely._

_In a few seconds, the grand clock tower rang loudly, signaling 5:00._

_As the clock tower chimed many times, the rain began to pour down. Those raindrops never ceased falling heavier and harder as minutes went by._

_Lightning. Thunder. Rain._

_Surely, the students of Ouran Academy will find it difficult to get home. Most of them weren't able to bring umbrellas and obviously, they don't want to go home walking or running in the rain. On the bright side, some of them brought umbrellas. They started walking on the school grounds, approaching the main gate._

_The clock tower stopped ringing. But the rain went on falling down._

* * *

_"Alright, time's up, ladies."_

_The girls inside Music Room 3 let out a cry as Kyouya signaled them. They stood up and thanked the seven good-looking hosts before leaving the music room._

_As usual, the hosts bade farewell, thus, ending the business of the Ouran High School Host Club for today._

_After the girls left, the seven hosts let out a sigh of relief and went to their respective places._

_Kyouya sat down on the red couch facing a garnished narra-made table and put his laptop on it. As always, his eyes were fixed on the radiating screen while typing with fast speed. Honey and Mori took their seats and enjoyed their afternoon snack: strawberry cake and Earl Gray tea._

_"Yum! Strawberry cake is the best!" Honey exclaimed._

_Mori simply agreed with what Honey said and ate quietly._

_Haruhi sat between the Hitachiin twins on the long red sofa. Hikaru and Kaoru were busy doing "business", making Haruhi a little bit disturbed and somewhat annoyed after seeing the twins whispering with one another._

_"What are you guys talking about?" Haruhi asked, her one eyebrow raised suspiciously._

_"Can we ask you a favor?" the twins said altogether._

_"What favor?" Haruhi said._

_Hikaru and Kaoru let out their playful grins and put their arms around Haruhi._

_"Can we come over to your house this Sunday evening? Let's have nabe (hot pot) for dinner!" they said, their eyes looking at Haruhi expectantly._

_Haruhi let out a chuckle and nodded._

_"Sure, why not? My Dad won't be home this weekend, so I think you guys can hang out in our place."_

_Tamaki's eyes were blazing with fury as he looked at the Hitachiin twins devilishly. Suddenly he jumped out and grabbed Haruhi away from the twins' hold. For sure, Tamaki's using his overprotectiveness (again) towards Haruhi._

_"GET YOUR HANDS OFF OF MY LITTLE GIRL, YOU TWO!" Tamaki blurted._

_"Tamaki-sempai, s-stop hugging me. I-I can't breathe…" Haruhi protested, gasping for air._

_"Oh, I'm so sorry, Haruhi!" Tamaki exclaimed as he let go of Haruhi and laughed awkwardly._

_"Does this mean that we're going too, Haru-chan?" Honey interrupted as he ran towards the brown-haired female, embracing her like a stuffed toy._

_Haruhi couldn't resist smiling when she looked at Honey's face. She patted the short male's head gently and laughed. "Of course, Honey-sempai! Mori-sempai can come as well."_

_Mori walked towards Haruhi and Honey. "Thank you for inviting us, Haruhi."_

_Haruhi shrugged her shoulders, grinning. "No problem, Mori-sempai. All of you are always welcome to visit our house...I think."_

_"Rest assured that we will never give you burden when we get there, Haruhi. Since you will be our host on that day, giving you such trouble on our part wouldn't be nice." Kyouya said._

_"Thanks, Kyouya-sempai. At least, we'll be eating nabe together." Haruhi said._

_As the Host Club were in the middle of their "little" celebration, the lights suddenly went off._

_"Gyah!"_

_Everybody gasped in fright as they found themselves in the middle of the dark. The day's going to be over and the night will come in a couple of minutes or so._

_Suddenly, lightning bolted in an instant. Thunder came next._

_"AHHH!"_

_"HARUHI!"_

_Everybody started to panic dreadfully. That striking bolt of lightning scared them to death, especially Haruhi, who was known having a terrible fear of thunderstorms. Realizing that Haruhi's beginning to get stiff and unable to move, the rest of the Host Club members guided her to the long sofa._

_Haruhi sat on the sofa, trembling._

_"Get my headphones and my phone in the bag, Kaoru." Hikaru commanded his younger twin brother while holding Haruhi's shoulders. Kaoru left hurriedly._

_Tamaki took out a big blanket, wrapping it around Haruhi. Afterwards, he soothingly rubbed Haruhi's back with his palms, trying to comfort the struck female._

_Honey and Mori looked for some flashlights at the emergency kit which Kyouya had prepared in times like this. Fortunately, they found seven small flashlights on that small kit. The two males ran back with the flashlights, and then gave one to each of the Host Club members._

_Kaoru came back with the headphones and Hikaru's phone. He wore the headphones onto Haruhi to cover her ears. In a while, Haruhi's body stopped shaking._

_"T-Thank you, guys…" Haruhi uttered, her voice wavering in fear._

_"Don't worry, Haruhi. We're here with you." they said to her softly._

_As the Host Club went still on their seats, they heard a rumbling sound. It was followed by a soft creak coming out of nowhere._

_"W-What is that s-sound?" Honey said frightfully, holding Mori's hands tightly._

_Everybody gazed their eyes at the main door. Much with their surprise, they noticed that the door is open._

_The cold wind instantly blew on their faces, sending such shivers to their skins._

_Tamaki's eyes went wide. "L-LOOK A-AT T-THAT…"_

_Gradually, the Host Club noticed a strange silhouette approaching. It moved slowly, making its way to the main door._

_In a blink of an eye, the door slammed. Darkness was everywhere._

_"AHHHHHHHH!" everybody shouted._

_As everybody shouted with terror, they heard tingling, sharp sounds around them. The door opened again, this time, the wind blew harder._

_However, they heard a shrieking voice as well. The voice sounded so…appalling and cold, that they all thought of one thing:_

_"GHOST! GHOST!"_

_"THERE'S A GHOST IN THE MUSIC ROOM!"_

_As these terrifying screams were heard inside the music room, the lights went on. The power came back to normal._

_It was then that the Host Club, with their horrified faces, started staring at an unknown individual, sulking on one corner of the room just beside the main door._

_Then there was dead silence._

_The clock tower struck again. It's already 6:00 P.M._

* * *

**BACK TO THE PRESENT...**

The city lights glimmer brightly as it filled the whole urban area with life. People were walking to and fro, heading to their separate ways and lives. Honks and beeps coming from vehicles alarmed everybody's ears. Such a scenario of a busy town...but, for her, everything seemed to be weird and somewhat...amusing.

She looked up the sky, wearing a red jacket with a hood covering her head. Feeling uncomfortable with the hood on her head, this young girl put the hood down. She brushed her fingers through her long black hair gently as she stared at those twinkling stars silently. Rainclouds began to disappear gradually, though she can still hear thunder roaring from afar.

This girl walked along the sidewalks, looking at each store that she passes by. Afterwards, she entered a mini-grocery store to shop for some food items. It took her a while before she stepped out from the store, holding a paper bag, filled with the items that she bought.

She was walking, withstanding those eyes which were staring at her with suspicion.

The girl bowed down her head and ignored those people who are looking at her.

When she got home, she turned on the lights in her bedroom. Once the lights went on, there were dozens of posters containing dark abstract paintings. There were these pumpkins hanging on the ceilings, giving light to her small haven every time she goes to bed at night. She even has a king-sized bed with skull designs onto the bedsheets. At the left side of the room just beside the window, a television set was seen, along with a portable entertainment showcase: a DVD player, a CD player, a pair of stereo speakers, a radio set and a cabinet containing all those DVDs and CDs. On the right side of the room was a bookshelf, containing books on occult, fantasy, science-fiction, a few romance novels, but most of these books were horror and suspense novels.

The girl took off her red jacket and looked at the mirror.

She found herself wearing a white long-sleeved shirt and a long skirt with odd designed prints on it. Her black straight hair falls into place, but looks kind of tangled, just like what hair looks like after waking up in the morning. Her face couldn't be clearly seen because she tries to hide it by blocking it with her hair.

Just as she was in the middle of that moment, she could hear voices inside her mind, echoing...resonating...

_"Creep."_

_"Weird."_

_"Loner."_

_"Witch."_

_"G-"_

The last word made her fret inside. She tried not to think of it deeper, but it was hopeless.

The girl shook her head and instantly went to bed and lay down.

She closed her eyes and sighed deeply.

_"There's no point of doing it. I-I can't do it...and I don't want to do it either."_

The girl rose and looked at the window, staring at the now clear night sky.

_"What am I going to do? What have I done? What will I do?"_


	3. The Root of It All Part 1

**FLASHBACK:_  
_**

_"Creep."_

_"A woman without any fashion sense."_

_"Weird."_

_"She looks like a zombie. Her clothes were too baggy and out of style."_

_"That girl's a 'slowpoke'."_

_"Loner."_

_"A girl who's living in her own little world and doesn't have any time to comb her hair."_

_"Witch."_

_"Why is she like that?"_

_"Is that how an ordinary girl should look like?"_

_"Freak."_

_"Maybe she isn't a girl...she doesn't look like a human either..."_

_"G-"_

_These are the words which she usually hear from people around her. Although she appeared to be indifferent about what others say about her, doing her part as the "great pretender" in concealing her emotions almost perfectly...deep down inside, she can feel that pain._

_It was the same hurt that she carries for a long time now. Obviously as time goes on, she already got used to this scenario...hearing such awful words from people who actually don't know a damn thing about her is something that she's struggling to endure all this time._

_Ever since she stepped into the Academy as a new student, she experienced being talked about by the rich students wherever she goes. They never stopped babbling about the way she walks and her manner of presenting herself to people (in terms of appearance and the way she dresses)._

_For this young girl, nothing is wrong about her._

_It just that...she perfectly knew that she isn't now the person that she was before. For her, the one who she called as her "old self" had vanished with the grave._

_Whatever the reason behind this, nobody knows...except her._

* * *

_Lunch break._

_The school refectory was filled with students who were patiently waiting for their ordered meals in straight lines. The entire facility looked like some sort of an English restaurant because of its extravagant, luxurious chandeliers, furniture, and table ware. Some of the students were already eating while chatting along with their peers._

_She entered the refectory with a lunchbox in her hands._

_As usual, everybody was staring at her, their eyes were looking at her with criticism and discrimination. She ignored them and looked for a nice spot to enjoy her lunch meal._

_Once she managed to find the perfect place, she pulled out a chair and sat quietly. Sh put the lunchbox on the table and opened the lid. The savory aroma of the food coming from her lunch box began to satisfy her senses._

_"Nice. Beef steak for lunch." she thought and then said her prayers silently._

_Suddenly...SPLASH!_

_She opened her eyes and blinked them shockingly. In just a splash, her lunch has been ruined by water. She found herself, soaking wet. Her black hair was damp, as well as her clothes. Just as she was about to stand up, she heard whispers coming from the students who are with her in the refectory. Then, she heard footsteps coming for her. She slowly looked back._

_She saw three beautiful girls standing behind her. Two of them were staring down at her while the one who was at the center was looking at her with a fake sad face._

_"Oh my! I'm sorry. The pitcher suddenly slipped from my hands." the girl at the middle said to her mockingly._

_What happened next shocked everybody. The three mean girls poured the remaining water from the pitchers to her. Afterwards, they took out three bags of flour and opened them. They instantly poured the flour onto the girl's head, covering her entirely with it._

_These girls began laughing as they enjoy this "moment". Most of the students laughed with these girls, while a few of them simply stared at the poor girl with pity._

_The terrible scenario ended in silence._

_She stood up and closed her lunchbox. Then she stood up from her seat and slowly walked away._

_Nobody knows, including her, that someone's watching the whole ruckus behind the shadows._

* * *

_"TAINAKA-SAN! W-WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU?"_

_Momoka stared at the wet girl with surprise, her eyes starting to cry. She instantly took out some tissue napkins to the quiet lady and held her hands tightly. Soga, with a contemptible face, asked the girl sternly._

_"Tell me, Tainaka-san! Who did this to you?" he said._

_The girl never said a word, instead she looked away from her two classmates and sighed heavily._

_Momoka sighed as well, patting the girl's shoulder._

_"Misaki-kun...please tell us so we can help you."_

_Misaki (the girl) clenched her fists and mumbled these words: "P-Please, don't mind me...y-you don't have to do this for me..."_

_"No! Don't say that, Misaki-kun! Kazukiyo-san and I care about you." Momoka blurted, shaking her head as tears fell down from her eyes._

_With tears in her eyes, Misaki suddenly ran away, leaving Momoka and Soga._

* * *

_5:00 PM._

_The grand clock tower chimed loudly._

_Misaki stayed at the hallway, still in her damp clothes. The flour went dry as it stuck onto her hair, face, hands and her wet clothes. Apparently, she looked awful. Her face reminded her of those ghosts which appear in most Japanese horror movies which she usually watches at night before going to bed._

_When she looked at the clock tower by the window, she sighed._

_"Geez...this is the first time that I skip class." she thought sadly and leaned onto the glass, her eyes staring at the seemingly grayish sky._

_A bolt of lightning suddenly appeared before Misaki's eyes. It just flashed itself from a distance between the dark clouds, making the female to step back in shock. Then, she heard thunder rolling above her head, creating those "roaring" sounds. Another bolt of lightning flashed again in the sky, and then thunder rolled._

_Misaki ran with fear in her eyes; her chest began to feel heavy and she can feel her heartbeat pounding abnormally fast. She looked for a room to hide and cover herself from the dreadful thunderstorm coming ahead._

_She found a door. Without thinking, she instantly opened it and went into that room, leaving the door slightly opened. It was then that she realized that the power has been knocked down by the lightning._

_The lights went out._

_Misaki found herself in the middle of this devouring darkness. Worse, the lightning flashed once more and thunder roared again._

_No luck, she can't see in the dark. She decided to stay in her position and then knelt down with her hands covering her ears. Her eyes were shut tightly, ignoring those scary sounds that this thunderstorm creates. She was so afraid; she simply sulked herself on her place, waiting for the thunderstorm to end soon._

_After that thunder, she heard odd sounds coming from out of nowhere. These sounds were followed by countless appalling screams which echoed all throughout the pitch black room._

_Misaki let out a scream._

_"AAAAHHHHHH!"_

_Suddenly, the power went back and the lights went on again._

_Misaki opened her eyes slowly, her whole body trembling in terror. She barely noticed that that there were seven shadows standing behind her._

_The clock tower struck again. It's already 6:00 PM._

_Misaki stood up slowly. She could feel the gravity underneath her feet. Though she tried doing it, it was hopeless. She can't move._

_Suddenly, she heard voices behind her, saying:_

_"W-Who is t-this?"_

_"Hey, Miss. A-Are you alright?"_

_She slowly turned around with a horrified face, until she found herself looking at seven terrified young males who were then looking back at her with their aghast expressions etched upon their faces._

_Lightning struck once more. Then, everybody screamed with fear._

_Misaki ran out of the room, screaming. Those seven people in that room were left, speechless. Terrified._

* * *

**BACK TO THE PRESENT...**

The school bell rang as the clock tower signaled 4:30.

Everybody went out of their classroom with happy faces, now that their expressions mean that classes are done for today.

Misaki's face looked worn-out due to lack of sleep. Her eyes were bloodshot and eye bags were formed underneath her dark orbs. Furthermore, her face looked terrifying because of its pallid color. She was walking along that hallway, carrying a pile of books in her hands. She could sense the weight upon her hands, arms and shoulders as she tried ignoring the pain that these heavy books brought to her.

Her appearance caused every student at the hallway to stare at her frightfully.

The black-haired female sighed and went on, ignoring those people as always.

When Misaki arrived at the main floor of the high school grade building of Ouran Academy, she decided to take a break. She sat by the stairway and put the books down on the floor. She panted heavily and took out her handkerchief from her pocket, and then wiped the sweat off of her forehead. From a short distance, she noticed a big group of female students laughing while on their way upstairs. Misaki glanced at those girls, and then picked up the books.

By coincidence, Misaki heard those girls talking:

"Hey, girls! Do you want to come with us to Music Room 3?"

"What are we going to do there? Our Music class is already over."

"No, we're not going there to take up our Music subject."

"So, what are we going to do there?"

"Trust us. We're sure that you're not going to regret this day that you came with us."

Misaki's ears were alarmed by this conversation. And so, with a determined face, she thought of this thing:

"I have to find where Music Room 3 is."

As Misaki was about to walk upstairs, someone called her.

"MISAKI-SAN!"

She turned around and see one of her classmates, holding three dictionaries in her hands. Misaki let out a doubtful look as the girl classmate approached her. She could see the anxiety in her classmate's eyes, since she knows that nobody dared to approach her, even her classmates.

"U-Uhmmm...Misaki-san, c-can I-I ask you a favor?" the classmate said nervously and then handed the dictionaries to her.

"W-What is it?" Misaki mumbled timidly, though she tried hiding her shyness away.

"May you r-return these t-to the l-library...p-please?" the classmate requested.

Misaki was hesitated to accept the heavy dictionaries from her classmate's hold. But she can't just say to her classmate that she doesn't want to do the favor. That would be bad, Misaki thought.

And so, with a bow, Misaki accepted the books.

Her classmate smiled at her anxiously and said, "T-Thank you, M-Misaki. I owe you one."

Afterwards, the girl ran away., leaving a startled Misaki at the stairway.

* * *

"Oh no! Where am I?"

Misaki had been walking back and forth; yet, she couldn't find where the library is. This building was too spacious and big for an academy. Misaki couldn't believe how in the world did she get into this place, up until now.

Realizing that she had lost her way, Misaki continued walking.

Suddenly, she found this certain hallway familiar. It's as if she already came in this place. Misaki thought about it...what if she already went to this hallway? But, the thing is, she can't remember when did she come here, or the reason why did she come here in this recognizable spot in the Academy.

Then, her eyes gazed at a big door, with the sign saying, "MUSIC ROOM 3".

Misaki felt an abrupt leap in her chest; her eyes looked at the knob closely. It so happened that this door looked...familiar to her. She held the handle gently. A sudden emotion filled her bosom; it was anxiety...unexplainable anxiety.

With a deep breath, Misaki thought, "Here comes nothing.", and then opened the door.

* * *

"I-Is this the library?"

Misaki's eyes went wide as she looked around the open room. She was standing in front of the door.

She can't believe what she's seeing:

"Apparently, the sign says that this room is Music Room 3. There was a grand piano over there. Unbelievably, there is a lot of people here...all of them were female students. S-Still...is this really a music room or what?"

Misaki noticed that this so-called music room looked more like a visitor's lounge or a fancy restaurant. She could smell newly-bake cookies, Earl Gray, and petite madeleines filling the entire room. Much with her surprise, there were rose petals scattered on the floor; their sweet-smelling fragrances caught Misaki's sense of smell instantly.

Female students inside this room were laughing and talking with one another, their faces blushing pink and their smiles looked so bright. This scene was a sore for Misaki's eyes, not until she saw something...or rather...somebody inside the room.

In the farther right part of the room were three girls, giggling with delight as they take their afternoon tea.

The girls' faces looked familiar to Misaki.

Her mind got struck with a mental bolt of lightning...she got it!

"Those three were..." Misaki said in disbelief.

Misaki walked in small steps.

Slowly.

Easy.

Misaki finally noticed it. She wanted to go and see those three girls, who in actuality, the same mean girls who poured water and flour onto her at the refectory moments ago. She wondered if she is ready to pay them back right now here in this room.

She never realized that everybody in the room started to cry in fright. The girls stepped away as they see her approaching; their faces filled with horror.

Her hands clenched. Misaki's face went stern but calm as she slowly approached the girls. It was then that a person suddenly tapped Misaki's back.

"Would you like to have some tea?"

Misaki turned around and saw a pair of big, brown eyes looking at her.

She stammered, now that she fully recognized the scenario:

All eyes were on her.

Her face and body were damp and heavily covered with flour.

Most of all, her dark, dull eyes were staring at the big, brown ones...awkwardly.

Misaki stepped back, until she accidentally tripped over after stomping onto something hard. In a split of a second, Misaki fell down; the books were accidentally thrown away in the air.

Everybody went terrified as they saw Misaki on the ground, her body lying motionless.

The next thing that happened?

The smaller books fell on some of the tables, breaking those expensive porcelain tea sets and plates.

One of the dictionaries fell from the table where the three mean girls were staying. The thick-paged book fell onto their plates and teacups, causing them to scream madly.

The second dictionary bumped onto an large antique flower vase. Obviously, the vase fell and broke into shards.

And the third one? It landed farther. This time, it wrecked the frame and the soundboard located inside the grand piano.

When everything fell into place, the music room was filled with peace.

All of a sudden, the girls have gone wild.

"AAAAAHHHHH!"


	4. The Root of It All Part 2

**PRESENT:**

"To sum it up, the overall amount of casualties is about ¥30,000,000, including the grand piano and the flower vase that you broke."

"W-What d-did you s-say?"

"You have to pay us ¥30,000,000 for the damage that you caused."

Misaka shook her head in disbelief.

"¥30,000,000...¥30,000,000...¥30,000,000...¥30,000,000..." she thought over and over again, until she found herself saying this in a weird, creepy manner. It seems like she's chanting these words repeatedly, her mind starting to feel confused and shocked at the same time.

* * *

**FLASHBACK:**

_The girls screamed as they saw Misaki standing up in a discomfited manner; her long hair was covering her face as she tried regaining her balance gradually. When the small lady lifted up her head, the girls screamed louder. Now that everybody's seeing her literally white face, they stepped back and moved away from the female._

_Misaki let out a scowl and sighed._

_"A-Aw, t-that hurts." she mumbled, until she accidentally bumped her head onto one of the tables. She never noticed a small pitcher of honey on it. The pitcher instantly fell onto her temple, the honey poured out and flowed through her ebony hair ._

_The girls gasped.__  
_

_The three mean girls looked at Misaki from a distance and let out their evil smiles, flashing out a "Thumbs Up!" sign from each other. Unfortunately, no one knows that these girls want to make Misaki's life miserable...for unexplained reasons._

_Then, she noticed a hand reaching out to her. She gazed at those big, brown eyes, staring at her with concern. Though her hair's almost covering her face, she could see that beauty shining before her.  
_

_"What the?" she thought._

_Misaki got stunned as she recognized a youthful face looking at her. Her brown__ eyes seemed to be sparkling, and she has a slender built like Misaki's. Yet, she wondered if this one's really a guy, because this person looked girlish to become a male._

___But then, s_he thought that she had seen an angel with a charming face, the one who came down from Heaven to save her from this tragedy. That idea made her melt.  


_With a lump in her throat, Misaki tried to speak. But no word came out from her mouth._

_The brown-eyed person looked at her with a worried face, saying, "What the? A-Are you alright?"  
_

_Misaki cannot answer the question because of shyness. Then, she heard the person asking her again. This time, those brown eyes were staring at her closely.  
_

_"Y-You look familiar. Have we met before?"  
_

_Misaki was about to say something when the girls suddenly panicked. They saw six young males approaching into the scene. They began squealing and running towards the approaching guys, holding their arms and hands tightly as if they want to cling and hug them, because obviously they got scared at Misaki.  
_

_Misaki glanced back. Suddenly her mouth went open when she saw those undeniably handsome guys, running towards the brown-eyed individual worriedly._

_"HARUHI!" the guys exclaimed altogether._

_Afterwards, the guys stared at Misaki. They looked at her from head to toe.  
_

_Then...silence came again._

_The lights went off...instantly.  
_

_An eerie and malevolent aura filled the whole music room as the seven guys looked at the white lady, standing before them scarily._

_Her dreadful appearance scared these seven guys big-time...most especially the girls who were now shouting relentlessly.  
_

_Three of them hurriedly looked for a place to hide. It happened to be under the long red sofa at the center of the room. __They were shaking terribly while mumbling words which everybody couldn't hear, except themselves._

_The other two just stayed where they are._

_A guy with short, black hair (which was styled in a smart/casual look) approached the brown-eyed person. His gray (almost black) eyes behind those slim, rimless glasses looked at the said person calmly and spoke in a solemn, firm voice._

_"Haruhi."  
_

_"Sempai, I know that this sounds unbelievable, but I believe that this girl and I belonged to the same class though she haven't formally introduced herself yet."  
_

_Everybody went totally horrified at what they had heard. Even Misaki could not believe it, either!  
_

_Kyouya went silent. After a while, he sighed, facing Haruhi.  
_

_"I believe this is it for today, Haruhi." he said._

_"Kyouya-sempai..." the brown-eyed person said softly._

_Kyouya faced the girls solemnly and bowed down as a sign of apology._

_"It's our deepest regret that we have to close early today, princesses. We have to settle an important matter as of this moment, and we would like to ask for your understanding and consideration." he said to the girls and flashed out his infamous "host smile"...a cool but captivating smile, which made the girls squeal with delight._

_Haruhi, on the other hand, sighed and began escorting the girls out of the music room._

_Misaki let out a heavy sigh and then heard strange voices whispering to her. She looked at the large sofa and got aghast to see those three guys, still cowering in fear. The two other males went towards Haruhi and shut the door.  
_

_Once the door has been closed and everybody's out...except for the seven guys, including Misaki, Kyouya took a seat and faced Misaki. To be frank, Kyouya's eyes seemed to be calm, but his glasses say the opposite (which definitely looked kind of strange for Misaki).  
_

_"Have a seat." Kyouya said to Misaki._

_Haruhi pulled out a chair and offered it to Misaki. The black-haired female thanked Haruhi and sat down silently._

_"Tamaki, you can come out now. Tell the others that there's nothing to be afraid of." Kyouya told the three guys under the sofa.  
_

_One by one, three heads popped out, terror plastered onto their faces. They sighed heavily and sat down on the sofa.  
_

_Kyouya smiled at them, saying, "Gentlemen, this is a very important matter to be discussed. Allow me to say this: I want everybody to cooperate and come up with decisions that will resolve this incident. Are we clear, gentlemen?"  
_

_"HAI!" everybody agreed in chorus.  
_

_Misaki watched these seven guys as they looked back at her with silence. Their faces still looked terrified, but not as awful as it looked moments ago. She thought that these males try to hide their fear towards her.  
_

_She could hear nothing, except the soft taps from Kyouya, who was busy typing onto his laptop.  
_

_Misaki bowed her head slowly and breathed , she closed her eyes.  
_

_The reality is clear...she is sitting in front of these gentlemen...face-to-face.  
_

* * *

**BACK TO THE PRESENT...**

Seconds, then minutes went by.

Everything seemed to be awkwardly serious.

Her mind never ceased thinking about it. In fact, she felt like she wanted to wither away and drop dead, just like a leaf withering and falling down to the ground during autumn. She felt helpless and desperate; she slowly moved her head, looking around the room from her seat, noticing the chaos that she did in the music room. Though it was an accident, Misaki knew that she cannot blame the accident which caused this mess. After all, everybody witnessed it. It merely shows how clumsy and slow she is.

Worse, her debt…her deadly debt that she must pay…Misaki wondered if she has to rob and bank and get all the large money vaults inside there. Maybe she has to buy everything that she has in her home.

"NO! I WILL NOT DO THAT! M-MY HAVEN…MY HAVEN…" she thought fearfully, until she came up with a thought.

_Pay the money with your body…_

She began thinking of images which she never imagined before: night bars, pole dancing, beers and male costumers sitting with attractive sexy females on the table…and she found herself, dressed up as a…

"WAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" Misaki shouted hysterically, waving her arms in the air like a mad man and shook her head terribly.

When she stopped screaming, the seven guys looked at her suspiciously.

Stillness came over.

Misaki sighed and looked at the seven guys nervously. Her eyes can't seem to endure looking at them straightly; thankfully, her hair's covering her face, so they don't know how embarrassed she looked while staring at them.

An adorable face popped out in front of Misaki, flashing out a curious expression while staring at the female carefully. He then held Misaki's head gently and chuckled. Misaki was surprised to see that cute smile upon the short male's face, his expressive brown eyes shining with happiness.

"You are not a ghost! You're a girl! See? I told you, Takashi! Ghosts aren't real!" the short blonde male stared at the tall-looking guy beside him; this man's possessing short dark hair and eyes, a calm expression plastered onto his face.

The guy spoke to the short blonde with a deep voice, saying, "I know it. Ghosts doesn't exist."

"I wonder what she looks like without this hair covering her face..." the cute little male said and tried moving away Misaki's hair from her face.

Misaki moved her face away, astounded by what the blonde little male attempted to do.

The tall guy instantly grabbed the cute bonde and carried him like a child onto his back.

The blonde pouted. "Takashi, let me down! I wanna see her face!"

"I think that's isn't a good idea, Honey." the dark-haired, stern guy said towards the short male.

"Don't you think we should let her clean up first before moving on with this matter?" the brown-eyed guy with a somewhat feminine aura told everybody.

The others agreed unanimously.

Misaki's body froze.

_No...this is a matter of life and death! This is insanity. No...I don't' want to stuck here with these...these...MISAKI TAINAKA! CALM DOWN! COME BACK TO YOUR SENSES! You have to be strong, right? Don't allow these...these beautiful creatures to lay their hands on you! NEVER LET DOWN YOUR GUARD! Yes, yes! Don't let them see your face! Be strong! Find a way, Misaki! Y-You can do this! YOU CAN DO THIS! I CAN DO THIS!_

Misaki thought of something...

She knows that this will be tricky and difficult, but she doesn't have a choice.

If she wants to run away from these guys, she must do it now.

She sighed and looked to her left and right.

In a flash, Misaki jumped out of her chair and ran for the door. However, she was caught by strong hands, pulling her back from her seat.

"RUNNING AWAY, EH?" two voices told her naughtily.

Misaki was shocked to see two people, smirking at her devilishly. She noticed that the two guys looked exactly alike...they have the same golden brown eyes, the similar short, auburn and somewhat messy hair (well, she noticed a slight difference between the twins' hairstyles anyway!)...even their devious grins reminded her of that mischievous Cheshire cat from "Alice in Wonderland"...she blinked her eyes, realizing that the twins were both holding her arms firmly.

"Gyah! Twins!" Misaki thought instantly as she struggled to escape from the twins' tight grasp.

The twins spoke, one at a time:

"You almost scared us to death, Yurei-chan!" the male twin with a deep voice said to Misaki. This twin has his auburn hair parted to the left, looking like it has been parted to the right side of the person facing him.

"We cannot let you go just like this..." the other male twin said, his voice is higher and a little more pitchy than his twin's. His hair is parted to the right, as opposite to his twin.

"So, don't try to escape from us...BECAUSE WE WON'T ALLOW YOU TO DO IT ANYWAY!" the twins said together in a playful manner, winking at Misaki.

_NO! NO! NO!  
_

Misaki tried to get away from these twins with all her might. However, the more that she tried doing it, the more pain it had caused her. Misaki thought of giving these two a slamming kick in the ass when she found the perfect timing...but at this rate, she's at a disadvantage. Her mind tells her not to fight back, or this will be the end of her stay at Ouran Academy.

In the end, the twins pulled a defeated Misaki back to her chair, holding her shoulders tightly.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk! You're too stubborn and brave...for a girl." one of the twins spoke, looking at Misaki with a hint of amusement upon his face.

The other twin suddenly held Misaki's hair and looked at it closely. He suddenly smelled it, sniffing at it quietly; Misaki gasped.

"W-What the heck are you doing?" Misaki blurted.

"Honey..." the male twin said, now his eyes looking at Misaki. The guy blinked his eyes as he wiped his nose which was slightly covered with the sugary thing with a tissue.

Misaki scowled in secret and turned her head away.

"Good work, Hitachiin Brothers!", a guy who has light blonde hair and blue-violet eyes spoke abruptly, catching everybody's attention because of his beaming voice.

The twins saluted the purple-eyed blonde. "THANKS, BOSS!"

Haruhi went face-palmed and faced the twins with an annoyed face.

"Hikaru, Kaoru..." she called.

"YES, HARUHI?" the twins said and faced Haruhi with sparkling eyes.

Before one of them could speak, Haruhi gave them straight punches on their heads. The twins whined in pain.

"HEY, THAT HURTS!" they said, teary-eyed.

"That's for harassing a girl, you idiots!" Haruhi explained and went back to her seat.

The twins let out a cry. "B-But, she scared us first? Remember?"

Haruhi went quiet and thought deeply.

Something struck into her mind.

* * *

**FLASHBACK:**

_The Host Club, with their horrified faces, started staring at an unknown individual, sulking on one corner of the room just beside the main door._

_Then there was dead silence._

_The clock tower struck. It's already 6:00 P.M._

_The lights went on as the power came back to normal. The Host Club were still stiff, standing on the ground with mixed emotions and unexplainable expressions upon their faces.  
_

_The unidentified person slowly turned around with a staggered, terrified face. The way her face looked like that time made the situation worse. She started to mumble, as if she was chanting.  
_

_The ambiance inside the music room got spooky and darker as before.  
_

_The person tried to stand up, but the way she did that was horrifyingly awkward. She looked like the famous lady ghost from that horror movie. Her face looked white, her dark eyes staring at the Host Club frightfully, and her body shaking.  
_

_The seven members of the Host Club went aghast when they took a good look at the person.  
_

_Afterwards, lightning struck._

_They screamed.  
_

_The person screamed too and ran out of the room in an instant, thus, leaving the Host Club in their worse scared looks.  
_

* * *

**BACK TO THE PRESENT...**

Haruhi sighed.

"Now, I remember. It was her whom we saw last time." she said softly.

Misaki could not understand what's going on. Her head's starting to feel dizzy as she heard them talking with one another, their confused faces visibly shown. There's still a hint of fear in their eyes as they glanced at her.

Now that everybody realized that they haven't really seen a ghost, everybody decided to ask questions to the black-haired lady.

"You are a new student, aren't you?" Kyouya asked Misaki.

Misaki never said a word, but she nodded.

The twins folded their arms snugly.

"And you are our new classmate, right?"

Misaki nodded again.

"Alright, Ms. Misaki Tainaka. I suppose that you have to give us an explanation right now." Kyouya added, smiling.

_Misaki Tainaka...so that's her name_, everybody thought.

Misaki gasped.

"I-I...uhmmm, I-I don't know where to start...r-really..." she mumbled.

"You have to tell us how did you got here that afternoon. Seriously, you scared the hell out of us that time. We've been here for three days because all of us can't move on with that incident." the twins said to her.

"Don't tell me that you're in the Black Magic Club, do you?" the blonde with the purple eyes said shakily.

The others gasped with their eyes widely opened.

Misaki shook her head. "N-No, I haven't decided on which club should I join yet."

They blinked their eyes, until an odd smile crept upon their faces, especially Tamaki's.

Haruhi sighed and faced Tamaki furiously. "OK, so what are you guys thinking about now?"

Tamaki let out a boisterous laugh which startled Misaki.

"I think that we should settle this matter once and for all!" he said aloud, making his "King" pose in front of everybody.

Tamaki's statement made Misaki nervous inside.

_What's going to happen now? Oh, no..._

"Tamaki-sempai, is there any other way to solve this matter? She cannot pay her debt that easy. The amount's almost triple than mine." Haruhi, who was sitting beside Misaki, told the blonde fellow.

Kyouya grinned at Haruhi.

"I guess there's no other way, Haruhi. It looks like Tamaki has made up his mind already." he said.

Afterwards, he spoke towards Haruhi, grinning.

"Do you still remember what I told you that day, Fujioka-kun? When in Rome, do as the Romans do. If you don't have the money, pay with your own body!" Tamaki said aloud, flashing out his "King-like" pose towards everybody.

Tamaki smiled and pointed his finger at Misaki. The female got shocked by Tamaki's sudden and somewhat weird action.

"And THAT is what she must do to clear out her debt to the Host Club!"

The last statement alarmed Misaki.

"W-WHAT?" she gasped in disbelief.

The twins smirked at her, saying, "You got nowhere to go, Yūrei-chan!"

"Stop harassing her." Haruhi interrupted as she warned the male twins.

Kyouya smiled and faced Misaki.

"Misaki Tainaka."

Misaki looked back, feeling confused.

"W-What is it?" she asked.

* * *

**THE NEXT DAY...**

Misaki was walking along the hallway. Her face looked more terrible and paler; her cheeks were suffering from a major blood loss because of its almost white skin color. Her long hair was now covering half of her face. Her right eye was seen staring at the horizon blankly.

Her thoughts were running inside her mind. Recalling everything that had happened at the music room yesterday brought her stress. She even felt that pain on her forehead because she thought of it too much, that she haven't got the chance to get some sleep.

At this point, she has to do the impossible thing...the worse thing that she will ever do in her whole life. No matter what, she already decided it.

_I have to do it...I MUST do it..._

* * *

**FLASHBACK:**

_"From now on, you are the Host Club's dog!" Tamaki said loudly._

_Misaki's face got horrified as the blonde spat out these words. She felt that her whole world just crumbled in a blink of an eye. She felt that weight which had fell down onto her shoulders now that she has to become the club's underdog._

_Tamaki nodded and laughed while the others looked at him annoyingly._

_Haruhi approached Misaki and held her shoulder._

_"Don't worry, Misaki. Though these guys are a bunch of good-looking morons, they are all nice." she said, flashing out her charming smile._

_Misaki blushed a bit and shook her head. " Why are you telling me this?"_

_"Well, it's because I became their dog when I first stumbled into this room and met the Host Club. Also, like you, I have a debt to clear out." Haruhi replied, looking at the guys smilingly._

_Misaki didn't speak; she sighed._

_"I-I'm sorry for what happened." she mumbled._

_Haruhi was a little shocked when she heard these words from the other lady. She chuckled and gave Misaki a friendly push on her back.  
_

_"It's alright, Misaki." she said._


	5. The Change Part 1

**PRESENT:**

Misaki was walking along the hallway. Her face looked more terrible and paler; her cheeks were suffering from a major blood loss because of its almost white skin color. Her long hair was covering half of her face. Her right eye was seen staring at the horizon blankly.

She even felt that pain on her forehead because she stayed up late, reviewing for the written and oral exams in her class.

As she recognized the familiar door along the hallway, the sign showing itself before her eyes. Misaki closed her eyes, thinking.

"It's been a week, huh?" she thought and stopped walking when she arrived at the front of the door, looking at it blankly.

_I remember now...this room..._

_Ever since that rainy afternoon, my life has changed._

_I have to go to Music Room #3 right after class. The more that I see it, the more I realize that things will be as hard as they seem. It was really a pain. I don't know how to pay the stupid ¥30,000,000 debt that I have. But the worse thing is, the only way that was left for me to do it is to become those guys' doormat. I will be required to follow all of their wishes.  
_

_Yeah, what am I in their little club anyway? I'm their dog, right?  
_

_Do you know what's more horrible than being the Host Club's underdog?_

At this point, Misaki realized that she has to do the impossible thing...the worse thing that she will ever do in her whole life.

* * *

**FLASHBACK:**

_"To become the Host's Club's new underdog, it's mandatory to follow ALL of our orders, Ms. Tainaka."_**  
**

_"Orders such as?"  
_

_"Starting next week, you have to address us as 'Master'. Remember to keep that rule in mind at all times."  
_

_"What a lame rule." she thought.  
_

_"Second, you must be ready for anything. Since you're the club's dog, you'll also become our maid. I expect that you will serve the Host Club with the best of your efforts, as well as to serve our clients with warm hospitality and service."  
_

_"M-MAID?"  
_

_"Yes. You heard it right, my dear."_

_"What the hell's wrong with these rich people?" she thought irritatingly.  
_

_Tamaki smiled at Misaki and gave out the final rule.  
_

_"Lastly, __every time you come here,_ you must dress up as what a beautiful young maidservant should look like!" he said and let out a wink.  


_Misaki's face looked terrible after hearing those words from the Host Club's president. Now, she doesn't know what to do or even how to respond about these "damn lame rules". Her knees began to shake, but she tried to stay still as she could.  
_

_The other Host Club members sighed._

_The appalling female clenched her fists, gritting her teeth. Behind her ebony hair was a very, very annoyed face. She cannot believe that this task will be as despicably and unacceptably difficult. Gradually, a strange aura was developed, surrounding Misaki. A cold breeze suddenly entered into the music room. The Host Club blinked their eyes and went terrified when they saw strange shadows scattering around them. They moved away from her, leaving Tamaki standing on his own before Misaki with his shocked expression on his face._

_Indeed. Misaki's really pissed off about the "dressing up as a maidservant" thing. With heavy footsteps, she approached Tamaki, mumbling these words angrily, "I WILL NOT ABIDE WITH YOUR STUPID RULES, YOU PATHETIC PRINCE."_

_Tamaki went aghast and ran into one corner of the music room, sulking after hearing those painful words from the dismayed lady._

_Haruhi's face went annoyed._

_"Tamaki-sempai, I think we should remove the 'dress-up-as-a-maid' thing on the deal. I guess Misaki will do just fine just the way she is." she said dully._

_"I think that isn't be a good idea, Haruhi. If Tainaka-san shows herself in that disturbing image, we will not be able to bring all our clients here. Instead, they will get scared at her and never come here again. Our business will be at risk. If that happens, you and Tainaka-san won't be able to clear out your debts to the Host Club. Don't you think that sounds alarming, Haruhi?" Kyouya explained, his eyes glued onto his laptop._

_Haruhi gasped._

_"B-But, Ootori-san..." Misaki stammered with her head bowed down._

_"I'm aware that you don't want that to happen, do you, Tainaka-san? __¥30,000,000 is difficult to earn nowadays._" Kyouya added.

_Misaki felt being defeated by Kyouya's statement as she thought of it clearly._

_If the Host Club will arrive at that point, how will she be able to pay her debt? She was desperately looking for other alternatives to solve this problem; yet, the only thing to clear it out is to swallow her pride and dignity, just to serve the Host Club as its dog._

_She huffed. "Damn it!"_

_After that conversation, Misaki stepped out of the room, disappointed._

_She can't help but to blame herself for being so careless and dense. If it wasn't for the thunderstorm which occurred that rainy afternoon, as well as her stupidity when she had mistaken Music Room # 3 as the school library, she wouldn't be here today._

_But then, Kyouya's right. She has to abide by the rules, if she wants to clear out her debt to them even if by doing those rules means she has to swallow everything that made her whole._

_"N-No...I can't do it!" Misaki thought and shook her head._

_That's what she was thinking all throughout that day until she got home._

* * *

**BACK TO THE PRESENT...**

Misaki sighed and reached for the door handle.

No matter what, she already decided it.

_I have to do it...I MUST do it...I have to change EVERYTHING, though it hurts.  
_

Misaki opened the door and entered into the room.

_MISAKI TAINAKA...WHAT MESS HAD YOU GOT INTO, HUH?_

* * *

"Whoa, no one's here. Weird."

The black-haired young lady roamed around the music room. Presently, the entire room was clean; the remains of those shattered pieces of porcelain, rose petals and the wreck that she caused towards the grand piano and the antique vase were all gone. Thinking about the mess that she did in this room made her depress; she mentally blamed herself, her clumsiness brought her into this.

"Where's everbody?" she thought while walking around.

In a moment, Misaki recognized a door with the sign, "Fitting Room" on one side of Music Room # 3. She got curious and decided to enter in.

When she opened the door, a shining ray of light suddenly shone upon her and touched her eyes. As the light gradually disappears, Misaki blinked. She was able to see the interior of the fitting room now. However, when her eyes gazed upon those smaller changing chambers, she got aghast.

She heard voices...voices which seemed to be whispering to her ears.

_"Don't you think this costume's kind of hot?"_

_"Well...sort of. I want to take this off now."_

_"Hurry up. We're about to open in a few minutes."_

_"Takashi, have you seen Usa-chan?"_

_"Oh, I found it."_

_"WOW! YOU LOOK GREAT IN YOUR COSTUME, HARU-CHAN!"_

_"T-Thanks, Honey-sempai!"_

_"Why of course! Mother made this dress for Haruhi!"_

_"Gentlemen, are we all set?"_

_"Not yet!"_

_"Hmmm...we have to hurry. Our clients will be here soon."_

_"By the way, where's Misaki?"_

Misaki got shocked when she heard her name. She around, terrified.

"Oh no! What am I going to do? I-I have to get out of here!" she thought and turned away until a recognizable voice startled her.

"She's already here."

Those people inside the fitting chambers came out and saw a dumbfounded Misaki. Behind that black hair was a scarlet hue creeping onto her cheeks.

_N-No...no..._

Misaki closed her eyes and slammed the door._  
_

The Host Club stared at each other with their doubtful faces.

"H-Hey, do we look bad in these 'yakuza' outfits?" Honey blurted doubtfully.

Mori simply sighed and held Honey's head.

Kyouya stared at Tamaki and sighed.

"Someone's got scared at us."

"Yeah, I think so. That poor young lady." Tamaki said sadly.

Haruhi noticed the Hitachiin twins behind her, and then faced them, pokerface.

"What's with that look, you two?" Haruhi said with her eyes looking sharply at the male twins.

"Our kimonos were kind of hot for the skin, so we took it off. Why, Haruhi?" Hikaru and Kaoru said to Haruhi, both of them stared back at her confusingly.

"Don't you realized that you guys are both half-naked?" the annoyed female retorted and turned away, walking out of the fitting room.

* * *

Misaki was on the couch, her face looked terrified.

Images of what happened at the changing room made her furious and intimated at the same time. What the hell did she just saw?

_Five gorgeous people in their striking, undeniably captivating 'yakuza' outfits...and hot, good-looking male identical twins looking at her, half-naked..._

"GYAAAAAHHH! WHAT'S WRONG WITH ME?" Misaki thought furiously, holding her head.

She heard the door opened; Misaki turned around and saw the Host Club walking out of the changing rooms. They looked at Misaki calmly and sat down on their seats, as if nothing happened.

The black-haired lady gazed onto the twins.

She found Hikaru and Kaoru glancing at her with their stern amber eyes.

She suddenly turned her head away and then secretly looked at Haruhi who was sitting beside her. Haruhi noticed Misaki and decided to talk to her.

"A-Are you alright, Misaki?"

"Y-Yeah, I'm alright, Fujioka-san."

"Just call me Haruhi."

"O-OK, Haruhi."

Haruhi chuckled.

"Sorry for what happened a while ago. To be honest, we were all shocked when you appeared; those twins weren't able to put on their kimonos when you came in."

Misaki nodded slowly and sighed.

"T-That's OK, Haruhi. I understand."

"Alright, everybody's here, I suppose. Let's have this brief meeting before we open the Host Club for a new day of serving the ladies with our excellent services." Tamaki announced.

Everybody looked at Tamaki attentively. Misaki twitched her eyes a bit.

"Gentlemen, remember. Smile and entertain our guests. As long as we're here, let us give what this club has to offer."

Everybody agreed.

Tamaki sighed.

"Let's start with Ms. Tainaka over here. I think that everything's clear to you now. Don't forget the rules, my dear...or else, your debt will be added by a million yen with every single violation that you'll commit." he explained mischievously, his purple eyes sparkling triumphantly.

Misaki got stunned.

"Hey, that rule's not included in the deal, you hypocrite prince!" she shouted.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk! Don't be so harsh, Misaki-kun! You forgot to address me. I think you already did your first violation." Tamaki said bluntly.

"Y-You..." the black-haired female mumbled with rage.

"Geez...Tamaki-sempai's dead serious about this ordeal with Misaki. What a guy." Haruhi thought.

Misaki sighed heavily and stood up. Then, she suddenly bowed down to Tamaki humbly. What she acted made the rest of the Host Club members gasped surprisingly.

"I-I'm sorry...Master."

Tamaki's face brightened up as he was looking down on Misaki.

Misaki lifted up her head, showing half of her face to the arrogant blonde male. Afterwards, she grinned.

"...I'll show you how I do my job well." Misaki said, determined.

Tamaki's eyes blinked. There was a strange spark in his deep lavender orbs when he looked at Misaki longingly.

In an instant, Tamaki looked at the Hitachiin twins.

"Hikaru, Kaoru! Escort Misaki-kun to the changing room right now! You know what to do." he commanded.

"YES, BOSS! WE'LL DO IT RIGHT AWAY!" the twins replied and saluted Tamaki.

Then the scene continued as Hikaru and Kaoru were seen pulling a struggling and wild Misaki to the changing room, their trademark mischievous smiles plastered onto their faces.

Misaki thought that she is now ready to do her job as the club's underdog. But now, as she found herself being pulled by those irritating twins, Misaki thought that something wrong's going to happen to her. The thought of her, dressed up in that kimono like the Host Club members terrified her.

Honey and Mori stood up.

"Let's begin." Mori uttered.

"YEHEY! MORE GUESTS, MORE STRAWBERRY CAKES!" Honey cried out loud in delight.

Kyouya simply stayed on his seat, watching everybody moving on with their respective places.

Without the other's notice, Tamaki felt this electrifying sensation flowing inside him out of the blue. When he stared at Misaki's face, Tamaki felt odd. His hands began trembling in an unexplained manner; his stern face had changed into a smile.

Haruhi went towards Tamaki.

"What's wrong, sempai?" she asked.

"Ah, it's nothing, my Haruhi." Tamaki answered with a hint of anxiety in his voice.

Then, he heard Haruhi giggling at him. Tamaki instantly blushed in front of the adorable petite female and slightly turned his head away.

"I think you had noticed something different about Misaki, hadn't you?" Haruhi said directly.

Tamaki went silent and just looked at Haruhi.

"Well, I guess you got me there, Haruhi." he confessed and let out a loose sigh.

"Don't worry, Tamaki-sempai. I know that Misaki will be alright." Haruhi uttered and slowly walked away.

Tamaki stared at the door leading to the changing room and sighed again.

"What am I going to do with that little rose?" he thought.

* * *

The chaos has finally began inside the changing room.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING, YUREI-CHAN? B-BE STILL!"

"Geez, she's too strong! I never thought that she has this tremendous strength!"

"Don't worry, Kaoru! You and I are going to do this...together!"

The twins held Misaki's arms firmly as they dressed her in a sky blue kimono with blue rose designs on it. Fortunately, Misaki's still wearing her uniform and there's no time left. Also, the twins don't have the right to undress her themselves or else they'll be doomed.

The Host Club will be open for business in a few minutes. The distressed female tried getting away from the twins, but she just can't get herself out of them.

"GET THOSE THINGS AWAY FROM MEEEEEEEEEE! HELP! HELP!"

Misaki was shouting relentlessly while the Hitachiin twins were struggling to make her stay on her seat. Apparently, these boys were attempting to dress Misaki up and do a little make-up on her. Unfortunately, Misaki's one strange girl. She got scared at those make-up kits and various dresses that she noticed on the table.

The twins found this job stressful. And so, Kaoru can't help himself but to cry.

"Hikaru, I-I can't hold it much longer!"

'Kaoru, don't give up!"

Hikaru saw Kaoru with a helpless expression on his face, his eyes teary-eyed.

"B-But, she's so strong and stubborn! What are we going to do?" Kaoru said.

All of a sudden, Hikaru looked at Kaoru suggestively. The other twin, realizing what his twin meant, smiled all of a sudden.

"Yes, Hikaru! Let's do this!"

Misaki's eyes went wide as she saw the twins undressing themselves in front of her (well, they're ALMOST taking their kimonos off...).

"Don't you think this kimono's too hot for us? I mean, the clothing material that was used in making these kimonos were thick." Hikaru asked Kaoru.

Kaoru nodded. "Yeah, I want to take this off now."

"Let me help you with that. I don't want you to sweat too much." Hikaru said in a soft voice as he held Kaoru and helped him taking his kimono off.

"W-Wait! Do you think we should do this...in here?" Kaoru uttered nervously with his face blushing.

Hikaru smiled and held Kaoru's cheeks fondly.

"Well, this is the changing room, Kaoru. After all, nobody can see us...right?" Hikaru said and then glanced at Misaki with his glare.

Misaki started to scream and stood up, stopping Hikaru and Kaoru from what they're doing.

"DAMN IT! WILL YOU JUCT CUT THE CRAP OUT?" Misaki blurted, her cheeks blushing.

Hikaru and Kaoru smiled naughtily and suddenly grabbed Misaki.

"CAUGHT YOU!" they said and pushed Misaki back to her chair. After that, they took out thick ropes and tied them around Misaki's body. That time, Misaki's already dressed up in her blue kimono.

Hikaru and Kaoru looked at Misaki, their eyes sparkled weirdly, their smiles looked creepy.

"This is for scaring us, Yurei-chan! Be ready! Here we come!" Hikaru and Kaoru said in their husky voices.

Misaki stared at the Hitachiin twins.

The entire fitting room was filled with a terrified scream.

"AAAAAHHHH!"


	6. The Change Part 2

The Host Club opened for business at exactly four in the afternoon. As usual, Music Room # 3 was filled with merry voices and squeals coming from female students who frequently visit the Host Club as "regular clients". They seem to enjoy their stay at the reception area: the whole interior design was inspired by the traditional style of a Japanese house. The space was indeed wide, perfect enough to accommodate everybody.

There were sliding doors and dividing screens which served as partitions to the hosts' rooms. Tatami mats were placed on the entire floor; soft "zabuton" or square cushions were used by both hosts and guests to sit on.

There were lots of "kotatsu" (Japanese dining table); each of these tables was covered with a futon to keep the heat in, and a board on top of the futon to use the "kotatsu" as tables. Delicious delicacies were served on each tables, including some of Japanese famous cuisines such as sushi, sashimi and tempura.

Cherry blossoms were falling down onto their heads as the wind blows gently; the pink petals came from the flower-viewing reception nearby.

Indeed, the ambiance inside the Host Club's quarters was welcoming and cozy. In fact, the club planned to keep the interior design of the reception area as simple but elegant as it looks now. Furthermore, the club decided to extend their services to their beloved guests until 6:00 PM, since they were closed for three days (because of the "scary" incident occurred in the music room).

As Tamaki and the other hosts were busy attending the guests, the Hitachiin twins were still inside the changing room. Their faces looked tired as they were seen sitting on the floor with their backs leaning onto the wall. They were waiting for Misaki to come out from one of the small fitting chambers. They thought that dressing a lady like Misaki would be easy.

Yes, they thought: Misaki is a strange girl.

They have seen it by the way she shouted as she tried to get away from them; she wanted to get away from everything that other girls would love to have and wear...dresses, make-up, accessories...and all those "girly" stuffs. And the bad thing is, they spent almost an hour before the Host Club opened, just to get done with the task.

The twins looked around the changing room...it was a mess. Also, this silence around them is driving them mad inside.

They sighed and faced each other with a sense of depression.

"Hikaru?"

"What is it, Kaoru?"

"I'm tired. I don't feel like going out there."

"Though I feel the same way that you do, we both know that we have to get out of here and do our job."

"My head hurts."

"Same here."

"Maybe we should buy some painkillers at the pharmacy before going home."

"Yeah, fine by me."

"Yeah."

Hikaru and Kaoru stared at each other's eyes, and then sighed again. They decided to stand up and check on Misaki.

"Yurei-chan, are you done?" Hikaru said dully.

"Come on. We have to leave." Kaoru added.

They heard a swish; the curtain opened and the black-haired female stepped out of the fitting chamber with heavy footsteps.

Suddenly, Hikaru and Kaoru gasped with their eyes sparkling weirdly. The twins looked at Misaki from head to toe in a discreet manner. Afterwards, they just pinched each other's cheeks slowly with a hint of astonishment on their faces.

"H-Hikaru...we did it, didn't we?" Kaoru said first, pinching Hikaru's cheek.

"W-What do you think, Kaoru?" Hikaru said back, pinching his twin's cheeks too.

Misaki looked at the amazed twins skeptically and said, "Why are you looking at me like that, you two?"

The twins both pointed their fingers at the large rectangular behind Misaki. Misaki turned around and looked at the said mirror and began examining her face carefully.

A sudden realization struck her.

"NO! WHAT IS THIS?" Misaki thought, her face gradually turned sour.

The raven-haired female was wearing that blue kimono with blue rose prints on it. The cloth that was used for making the mentioned kimono is silk. She was also wearing a pair of "geta" (Japanese traditional footwear); her long black hair has been styled into "nihongami", along with well-placed "kanzashi" (hair ornaments) on her head. Misaki's face was wearing a little make-up, just as the twins did.

However, for Hikaru and Kaoru, what they did was unexpected. They never thought that they actually did a splendid job.

For Misaki, on the other hand, what the Hitachiin twins did to her was...

"WHAT THE HECK DID YOU TWO DID? THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE!" Misaki cried.

"H-Hey, Yurei-chan! We spent an hour just to make you what the Boss wants you to be!" Hikaru and Kaoru blurted.

Misaki sighed and turned away. She looked at herself again in the mirror. The twins heard her sobbing softly, which obviously made the two panic.

"H-Hey, M-Misaki..." they said worriedly, until Misaki looked at them with a death glare.

A strong force filled the changing room and the lights suddenly went off. The chilly breeze which came out from nowhere began to blow, the curtains swayed freely.

The twins heard Misaki, mumbling with a low voice, as if she was chanting a curse against them. Hikaru and Kaoru instantly hugged each other and stared at the now depressed lady frightfully.

"YUREI-CHAN, DON'T DO THIS! PLEASE SPARE OUR LIVES! YUREI-CHAAAANNNN!" they wept loudly.

A creepy smile was seen onto Misaki's face as she raised her hands, aiming to scare the twins with her "ghost lady" expression.

"You're asking me to spare your lives, are you? Why would I? Just look at what you did...how can you explain this to me? How?" she mumbled scarily, causing the two males to cry loudly.

Suddenly, the door opened. Haruhi and the rest of the hosts were standing by the door.

Everybody looked at Misaki longingly, as if they were cautiously examining her. In a blink of an eye, Tamaki jumped and ran inside the room with joy on his face, approaching Misaki with open arms. Misaki, realizing what the blonde guy is doing, stepped back. As a result, Tamaki tripped himself and fell down on the floor because he wasn't able to reach the furious female.

"AW!" Tamaki whined in pain.

Haruhi went towards Misaki and stared at her.

"Wow! You look great in that blue kimono, Misaki." she said directly.

Misaki shook her head, waving her hands nervously.

'N-No! T-This is not what-" Misaki said, but was interrupted by Honey's sudden embrace. She looked down at a smiling Honey, shocked.

"Misa-chan! You don't look like a ghost anymore!" the short blonde said happily.

Misaki felt her body shaking after hearing those words from Honey.

Kyouya grinned and said, "Well, I think the club's underdog's ready to do her job, isn't she?"

"W-What? I-I'LL GO OUT OF THIS ROOM...IN T-THIS LOOK?" the now wobbly young girl asked.

"Yes. If you don't want to commit your second violation, I suggest that you come out and serve the guests." Kyouya added, his smile growing wider.

Mori sighed and smiled. Honey let go of her and grinned sweetly.

Misaki stared at the Hitachiin twins, who were still embracing each other in fear.

Then, she noticed Haruhi smiling at her, and said, "Misaki."

With a heavy sigh, Misaki nodded slowly.

"Alright. I'll show you how Misaki Tainaka do her job." she uttered and walked away.

The Host Club let out their smiles. Hikaru and Kaoru blinked their eyes.

'We did it, didn't we?"

* * *

_"H-Hikaru...we did it, didn't we?"_

_"W-What do you think, Kaoru?"_

_"Wow! You look great in that blue kimono, Misaki."_

_"Misa-chan! You don't look like a ghost anymore!"_

_"W-What? I-I'LL GO OUT OF THIS ROOM...IN T-THIS LOOK?"_

_"Yes. If you don't want to commit your second violation, I suggest that you come out and serve the guests."_

Misaki shook her head.

"No, what are you thinking? . ." she thought until one of the guests inside the reception area approached her with a distressed look on her face.

"Uhmmm, excuse me, Miss. I-I need some help. My friend's having a terrible headache and I don't know what to do. Please help us!" she said and bowed down before Misaki.

"W-Wait! I-I...a-alright. Where is she?" Misaki asked nervously as the crying girl led her to one of the dining tables. When the two ladies arrived at the place, Misaki was shocked to see the girl's friend: she cannot breath properly and her face looked red. She immediately approached the lady and held her forehead.

"SHE HAS A FEVER! IS THE SCHOOL CLINIC STILL OPEN?" she asked the anxious girl who was supporting her friend's feeble body.

"N-No, it's past four-thirty. The clinic's closing at four." the girl replied.

"PLEASE WAIT FOR ME!" Misaki commanded and left the two girls. Everybody inside the reception area realized the situation and began panicking. They started to get worried about the sick young girl; though they wanted to help, they just don't know what to do and what they can do about it. Also, they are worried that they'll get sick too, so they never dared approaching the ill girl to help her.

Misaki never wasted time. She headed to the pantry, finding a way to solve this problem temporarily.

_Think, Misaki._

Misaki began looking for some fresh ginger roots to make "shoga-yu" (a hot ginger drink that often serves as a natural Japanese cold remedy; the tea often has sugar or honey added to it for flavor). She poured water in a kettle and put it on a stove. Fire from the gas stove will make the water boil faster. Finally, she found some ginger roots in the tea cabinet and grated them. She put the grated ginger in a cup and add sugar on it.

In a few minutes, the kettle whistled. Misaki put the fire out and took the kettle with a pair of mittens wrapped around her hands. She poured the water into the cup and stir it.

She went out with the warm tea and immediately gave it to the weak, sick girl. Her friend stared at the odd-looking tea that Misaki had prepared.

"S-She has to d-drink this?" the girl stammered.

"Yes." Misaki answered.

The girl held her friend's arm feebly and said, "I-It's alright. I'll drink it."

After a while, the sick girl drank the hot tea slowly. In a few minutes, Misaki saw that the girl's sweating profusely.

The girls inside the reception area were all stunned as they witnessed everything. The sick girl stood up, approaching Misaki. The raven-haired female took out a white mask, which similarly looked like a surgeon's mask, and then gave it to the girl.

The girl smiled and wore the mask. Then, she said a soft "Thank you".

Her friend bowed down, sobbing.

"I-I don't know how to thank you, Miss! But I do appreciate what you did for my friend. If it wasn't for you, I already panicked without knowing what to do. I even cause a ruckus to everybody. I'm so sorry." she said.

The Host Club approached the weeping girl.

"No, you don't have to apologize, my princess. You did everything you could to help her, so please don't blame yourself." Tamaki said, reaching for the girl's hand and held it gently.

The girl blushed, teary-eyed.

"Take her to the nearest hospital now. She needs to rest and get herself well." Haruhi said towards the girl.

"Yes, I will." the girl said, now with a smile on her face. She took her friend out of the reception area.

Everybody let out a cheer after that scene; their faces smiled joyfully at Misaki. One by one, they approached the female, feeling astounded by what she did. Obviously, they asked her what tea did she make and how did she learned doing it. Misaki, with a terrified look on her face, started to panic. She tried getting out from this crowd, but the girls keep on asking her questions.

Suddenly, one of them asked what her name is.

Misaki went aghast.

She slowly bowed down as a sign of respect.

"I'm sorry for the trouble that I caused you, mesdames (plural form of madam). From this moment on, I will be serving you as your maid. If you may permit me to speak, I would like you to know that I'll always serve you with loyalty and faithfulness. Please, call me Misa, my Mistresses." she said in a well-mannered tone, he voice sounded calm and gentle.

The Host Club was shocked by what Misaki did; the girls at the reception area were surprised.

Afterwards, everybody cheered for Misaki, their faces looked happy.

"MISA!" they exclaimed as they battle for Misaki's warm handshake.

Now, everybody was looking at her with wonder. As part of the job, Misaki attended the guests' needs and undeniably, she was doing a great job in serving the ladies...much with the hosts' amazement.

The Host Club let out their smiles and looked at each other's eyes.

"MISA-CHAN'S GREAT!" Honey cried joyfully while eating his favorite cookies with Usa-chan onto his lap.

"Yeah." Mori agreed.

"I wonder if Misaki's like that before." Haruhi blurted, catching everybody's ears.

"There's no doubt that all the boys will battle for her heart is she was...JUST LIKE MY LITTLE DAUGHTER OVER HERE!" Tamaki said and hugged Haruhi tightly.

"S-Stop that, Tamaki-sempai!" Haruhi said as she was being suffocated by the blonde's embrace.

"B-But, Boss...we think it's too early for you to say things like that. Look." the Hitachiin twins said, pointing their fingers at a staring Misaki, her eyes looking at the Host Club sharply, except for Haruhi.

Her look was like she was trying to say this: "ONCE THIS DAMN THING IS OVER, I'LL KILL YOU ALL." Her fresh and striking feminine look has been altered into an eerie and "ghost-like" persona, without the other's notice. They could see that dark aura surrounding the female.

Misaki smiled at them creepily and went on with her underdog business.

The males shivered frightfully; Haruhi simply sighed hopelessly and grinned.

"You know what, guys? I can tell Misaki is a very nice person. If only she could open herself to us..." she whispered.

"Yeah, talking about 'coming out of the shell' thing. You know what? Kaoru and I found out something while we're trying to dress her up." Hikaru said, grinning.

"What did you find out?" Honey asked.

"Yurei-chan looks weird and scary. All of us have seen that. However, if only we could help her pull out her 'feminine' side, then Yurei-chan will be able to be the best woman that she will ever be." Kaoru said.

Haruhi faced the twins.

"Don't tell me that you're planning on to something, do you?" she asked directly.

"YUP. WE SURE DO! What do you say, Boss?" Hikaru and Kaoru both answered.

"Well, that settles it, everybody! We have a new mission to do!" Tamaki said proudly.

"Just as I expected from you, Mommy." Kyouya said, grinning.

Tamaki laughed.

"Our mission will start this coming week. Also...I am planning to hold this special event!" the blonde male said and pulled out a white sealed envelope from his suit. He tore it and pulled the paper in it. He opened the sheet and showed it to the other hosts.

"A ball?" Haruhi said.

"Yes, my Haruhi! The Host Club's in charge of Ouran Academy's student ball next month. We have enough time to accomplish our task, so I expect all of you to cooperate. This is not just for the sake of the Host Club. We're doing this to help a precious and helpless young lady who's struggling to become the best person she can be!" Tamaki said, now teary-eyed.

"As expected of the Host Club's president. I never thought that you're determined to accomplish this so-called mission, Tamaki. Well, I don't mind...as long as we're gaining benefits from this." Kyouya said.

"Don't worry, Kyouya. All of us will truly benefit from this." Tamaki answered, nodding.

"MOST ESPECIALLY YUREI-CHAN!" the twins said in agreement.

"YEHEY! MISA-CHAN'S GOING TO BE A LADY!" Honey exclaimed.

Haruhi watched the males rejoicing. She sighed.

"Well, this is worth a shot, I think." Haruhi thought, until Hikaru and Kaoru tapped her shoulder.

"HA-RU-HI!" they said.

"Say, what did you do to Misaki in the changing room?" she asked.

"Well, the room's quite a mess. But we managed it somehow. Also, I never realized that Yurei-chan's fun to dress up...just like you!" Hikaru said, looking at Haruhi smilingly.

"Don't expect me to be flattered by what you said." Haruhi mumbled, slightly annoyed.

"No, seriously, Haruhi! When we looked at her face after applying make-up on her, she looked so adorable. Also, the kimono looks good on her!" Kaoru said abruptly.

Haruhi chuckled and punched the twins on the arm.

"Hey, that hurts!" the twins cried.

"You know, I just thought of something. Misaki and I are...similar one way or the other. I want to be me, and I want people to accept me for who and what I am. I think Misaki's trying to express that to us and to everybody else." Haruhi explained, causing the twins to feel amazed at her.

"Yeah." the twins agreed.

It took a while before the twins spoke again.

"Well, Yurei-chan is beautiful and unique. That's for sure." they said.


	7. A Special Summoning Part 1

Cherry blossoms were blooming with beauty as their rosy petals fell down to the ground, along with the gentle gust of the wind.

The weather was bright and sunny. It was already summer; no wonder why the sun's heat seemed a bit intense. The morning light touched the walls of the grandiose Ouran Academy, its warm rays passing through the glass windows.

The grand clock tower struck eight in the morning.

Everybody was seen walking along the wide school grounds, welcoming a new week with smiles on their faces. The atmosphere seemed comforting and fresh.

For Misaki Tainaka, a new week means a new pain ahead. She felt dizzy and was unable to sleep well yesterday night. One of her neighbors asked her for an errand, and that errand was something that really made her exhausted for the rest of the weekend.

With a heavy sigh and a pallid face, Misaki walked into the high school building.

She felt that her school bag's heavy because of a dozen books that she borrowed at the library four days ago. Obviously, she have to return them before going to class.

"Shoot! These books are heavy." she thought furiously while walking.

As always, Misaki walked along the hallway and then, headed up the stairway. People whom she had passed by looked back at her with mixed stares of fear and disgust. She knew that she's the center of their attention; as usual, she ignored them and went on her way.

When Misaki arrived at the school library, she entered in and looked around. Nobody was there, except her and the librarian. Misaki headed straight to the librarian's desk and faced the librarian: a woman in her twenties, her curly brown hair's tied with a ponytail and she was wearing a simple white collared blouse and a pair of black slacks, her face looked like an angel.

The drowsy female opened her eyes a bit, feeling astounded at the beauty before her. With a soft voice, she greeted the librarian, saying, "G-Good morning, Ma'am."

"Good morning! What can I do for you?" the librarian greeted back, flashing out a sweet smile.

"I-I just want to return these books." Misaki replied, and then taking the books out from her school bag.

The librarian took out a list and checked the books that Misaki borrowed. In a while, the librarian was done checking the list and faced Misaki.

"I'll take care of this later." she said gently while placing the books inside a box.

"Is it alright if I'll leave now?" Misaki asked.

"Go ahead, dear. You have class, haven't you?" the librarian said.

"Thank you, Ma'am." Misaki said and slowly bowed down before leaving.

As she went down the stairs and headed for class, Misaki sensed a strange feeling behind her. Although she thought that what she had felt was just her imagination, the feeling within her got strong.

She stopped, looked to her left and right, and then turned around. It was then that someone called her all of a sudden.

She was walking along the hallway when someone called her name.

"YUREI-CHAN!"

Misaki turned around, only to find that the Hitachiin twins were walking on the opposite direction, their faces smiling brightly. Haruhi was with them too. Now that she thought about it, the four of them were in the same class. This realization made her head ache more.

_Man, I almost forgot..._

"Good morning, Misaki." Haruhi greeted politely.

"G'morning." Misaki muttered.

"Are you OK? You look pale." Haruhi asked, her big brown eyes staring at Misaki cautiously.

Misaki shook her hands in denial and just laughed nervously.

"Oh, no! I'm alright!" she said and slowly bowed her head down.

Misaki sighed and glanced at her three classmates. She saw how happy those guys get along. Actually, she found it amusing.

She thought when's the last time she had been with her friends...

Rather, did she had a friend to be with, in the first place?

Misaki bit her lip as her mind's flying into the clouds, thinking about it.

_Why are you asking this, Misaki? Of course you never had any friends._

For sure, she never had any friend to play with or to talk with in her whole life. All this time, she had been isolating herself from the world and simply live peacefully on her own. This thought is only bringing Misaki to the gravest and deepest part of her mind; that certain part of her soul which she always strive to ignore. Yet, the hurt inside her is starting to develop as she's thinking about it...

Misaki was in the middle of her thoughts when a soft hand gently touched her, those fingers put her long black hair away from her face. Then, there was another hand, its palm placed onto her right cheek. The female blinked her eyes and found those golden brown eyes looking at her.

_What the?_

Suddenly, these hands naughtily flicked her forehead, causing Misaki to come back to her senses.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" she blurted with an angry face.

"JUST AS WE THOUGHT!"

Obviously, it was Hikaru and Kaoru who flicked Misaki's forehead. With their infamous sly grins, the twins looked at Misaki.

"So, that's what Yurei-chan looks like when she's daydreaming." Hikaru said.

"Yeah, that's right. Say, what are you thinking of, Yurei-chan?" Kaoru asked.

Misaki stared at the Hitachiin twins with her "death glare". As usual, the two identical males instantly stepped back and hid behind Haruhi fearfully. The brown-haired female sighed annoyingly.

"Why did you do that?" Haruhi said.

"Well, we're just curious what Yurei-chan looks like behind that hair. That's all." the twins replied sadly, letting out their pouting faces.

"Man, these twins...you already saw it, right?" Haruhi said annoyingly.

"By the way, w-where are you going?" Misaki asked slowly.

"Ah, we forgot something at the music room, so we have to go back and get it." Haruhi answered.

"Wanna come with us?" the twins asked Misaki in unison.

"I-I...w-well..." Misaki stammered.

"We'll wait for you here." Hikaru said.

"Just leave your bag on your seat, OK?" Kaoru added.

"Go, Misaki." Haruhi said, smiling.

"O-OK." Misaki blurted and went to the classroom.

* * *

Misaki, Haruhi, Hikaru and Kaoru walked together along the hallway. The raven-haired female glanced at the glass window with droopy eyes. She sighed heavily.

"I really need to get some sleep when I get home." Misaki thought.

Apparently, her daydreaming state has been interrupted when she noticed that something's hapening outside the school building. She tried ignoring it, however, the scenario outside the Academy caused trouble on her part.

She stopped walking.

Her classmates noticed it. They turned around, seeing Misaki staring at the window blankly.

"Misaki, is there something wrong?" Haruhi said.

The other female blinked her eyes and stared at her three companions. She shook her head.

"Nothing." she uttered.

Haruhi stared at Hikaru and Kaoru. The twins looked back at her suggestively.

* * *

Recess.

The school refectory was once again filled with students who were patiently waiting for their luscious early morning snacks. And as always, Misaki brought food that she prepared at home: a three-layered tuna sandwich and orange juice.

She looked for a nice spot to enjoy her snack. When she found the perfect place, she sat down and began saying her prayers silently.

When Misaki opened her eyes, three shadows stumbled before her eyes.

Familiar feminine voices welcomed her mockingly; Misaki lifted her head slowly and found those three recognizable faces, staring at her with their devilish grins.

"Wow, great timing." Misaki thought.

"Hey, witch! Having fun eating your sandwich?" one of them spoke abruptly.

"Aren't you the girl who caused a commotion at the music room last week?" another girl said in a squeaky voice.

The girl who stood at the middle approached Misaki and leaned closer to the female's face. She flashed out a fake smile towards Misaki and chuckled.

"Yeah, I remember! You're the one who tripped on the floor. What a pity! You embarrassed yourself in front of the most handsome men of Ouran High. You're despicable." the girl told Misaki, her face gradually gone angry.

"UGLY! YOU. ARE. UGLY." her friends said back.

Misaki simply watched these three girls mocking her and calling her names closely. She was secretly clenching her fists, and she knows that she cannot fight back...or else it'll be her end.

The mean girls took pitchers of cold water and poured it onto Misaki. The crowd panicked as they witnessed what had happened just now. Boisterous sinister laughter came from these girls; Misaki stood up, lifting her head up and looked at the girls sternly.

"Do you want to fight us back? Go ahead. WE DARE YOU." the mean girls said.

Misaki scowled.

"You're challenging me, aren't you?" she uttered mentally, staring at the girls sharply.

In a blink of an eye, Misaki saw the mean girls carrying her things and threw them out of the window. Obviously, everybody inside the refectory gasped shockingly.

"What are you going to do, ugly?" they told her with mocking grins plastered on their faces.

The students who were watching this whole scenario couldn't do anything to help Misaki. They knew that the mean girls came from the richest families the country has ever known; they are aware that battling the mean girls would mean war...worse, expulsion from Ouran Academy. And so, they never dared moving themselves an inch, in order to get Misaki out of this trouble. But then, their faces show pity for the young lady.

Misaki bowed her head down.

The mean girls stared at her as they took their bags and waved her goodbye.

"SO LONG, WITCH!" they shouted triumphantly and laughed boisterously.

Just as the mean girls got out of the school refectory, the grand clock tower rang loudly as it struck one in the afternoon.

* * *

"MY BAG! MY BAG!"

Misaki kept on saying these words in her mind as she ran down the stairs and went out of the high school building of Ouran Academy with full velocity. She must get her bag before it completely gets wet or stained by dirt, mud and anything that will ruin it.

Once she got out of the building, she started searching for the bag. She looked around, glancing to the left and right. She turned around and looked behind to see if there's somebody around the place. Realizing that she's the only student outside the campus, Misaki decided to search at the wide rose garden. She began looking for the bag under the bushes, despite of the thin and thick thorns surrounding them. Misaki endured being stuck under those green bushes; she accidentally cut her left forefinger when holding them.

After the search at the rose garden, Misaki ran towards the clear blue lagoon nearby. From a short distance, she recognized her school bag floating freely onto the surface of the lagoon's blue waters.

She instantly jumped onto the lagoon and grabbed her bag. Unfortunately, it's too late. Most of her things were already soaked with water-her books, notepads and handkerchief.

Another thing that Misaki noticed?

"Where's my wallet?" she thought and looked down onto the knee-deep lagoon.

Misaki bent her knees and stretched her hands into the cold water. She started dipping her hand down to the clear surface of the lagoon, hoping that her wallet fell somewhere down there.

Blue skies.

Puffy, white clouds floating overhead.

The cool, gentle breeze blowing freely.

Placid blue waters of the lagoon shimmering under the afternoon sun.

Green trees and grasses, along with fresh, blooming fragrant flowers evrywhere.

Bended knees.

An exhausted face.

Anxiety.

Hope.

Silence.

Misaki couldn't exactly tell how long she'd been searching for her wallet around the lagoon. But no matter what happens, she must find it or she'll never have enough money to get herself by for the entire month.

While in the middle of her search, Misaki heard a voice calling her.

"YUREI-CHAN!

She stopped moving and turned back.

"Oh no..." she muttered as she saw the Hitachiin twins, Hikaru and Kaoru, approaching.

Misaki suddenly turned away and continued looking for her wallet.

Hikaru was observing Misaki carefully; Kaoru watched the black-haired girl iniquisitively.

"Looking for something?" Hikaru said.

"Need a hand?" Kaoru said next.

Misaki didn't reply.

All of a sudden, Misaki was surprised seeing the Hitachiins taking off their shoes and socks, and then rolled up their pants. The twins instantly went into the water and looked at her; their golden brown eyes seemed sparkling. Since she's a bit shorter than the two identical males, Misaki lifted her head to see the twins' faces clearly.

"W-Why a-are you-" Misaki gasped, until Hikaru stepped forward and leaned his face towards her.

Misaki went stiff and looked at Hikaru doubtfully.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

The older Hitachiin twin let out a sigh, never realizing the awkward closeness between him and Misaki.

"You don't have all day to look for something, you know. Why aren't you in class?" Hikaru asked back.

"I-I'm looking for my wallet." Misaki mumbled and slightly turned her gaze away from the male. She turned around, but was shocked to see Kaoru standing behind her.

As what his older twin did, Kaoru stepped closer and stared at Misaki.

"How come that your wallet's down here?" the younger Hitachiin twin said, pointing his forefinger to the water's surface.

With an annoyed face, Misaki walked away from Hikaru and Kaoru and went on looking for her lost wallet.

The twins looked at each others' faces and smiled. They both bent their knees, stretched out their arms, and dipped their hands into the water.

No doubt, the Hitachiin twins want to help Misaki. That's why they never hesitated to come down to the water, despite that they'll end up soaking wet.

And so, the three went on looking for Misaki's wallet until they heard the school bell ring.

* * *

Misaki was walking along the hallway, carrying her damp school bag. She has to come to Music Room #3 on time, or Tamaki will relentlessly include her tardiness in her violation list, thus adding her debt by another million yen.

Misaki scowled furiously.

"I hate this job." she mumbled and finally arrived at the music room.

When Misaki opened the door, she noticed that the music room's empty, except that the members of the Host Club were already there, preparing themselves for business.

Kyouya noticed Misaki's arrival and approached her with his usual cool grin.

"You're five minutes early, Misaki. Iit's about time to change your damp clothes and dress up. We have to make sure that everything's ready before we open." the dark-haired young man told her.

Misaki nodded.

"I understand. OK then. I'll go now." she said and went straight to the changing room.

* * *

**FIVE-THIRTY IN THE AFTERNOON...**

The Host Club stayed in Music Room # 3, cleaning the entire place.

Haruhi was busy picking up the tea cups and plates from each table and taking them into the pantry to wash them up. The male hosts were having their "own" business and never really helped in the cleaning at all.

Misaki was the one who almost done the whole cleaning; she fixed the curtains, arranged the tables and flower vases in their respective places and cleaned the wide floors of the music room with a vacuum cleaner.

With her black-and-white maid outfit and her long ebony hair falling down freely upon her back, Misaki looked adorable.

Haruhi came back from the pantry and approached Misaki.

"Hey, need a hand?" she asked Misaki, smiling.

"Uh, no. It's alright. I can manage." Misaki replied.

Haruhi looked at Misaki silently. Recalling everything that she heard and seen today, Haruhi felt a sudden heaviness inside her. Maybe it's because of what happened to the black-haired female way back at the refectory.

And it happened that Haruhi was the one who has to keep an eye on her (blame it on Tamaki). Without the other female's notice, Haruhi witnessed it. She knew that something's going on from the beginning, and there is no way that Misaki will tell it to them. That's why she decided that morning to ask the Hitachiin twins to help her with the task (although it's quite obvious that the twins were "enjoying" it too).

Misaki was done cleaning and decided to change her "distracting" outfit in the changing room.

While the girl was busy changing her clothes, the Host Club decided to gather themselves for a brief meeting.

"Alright, I suppose that everybody's here." Tamaki said.

"Haruhi, do you have something to say before we move on with the meeting?" Kyouya said, glancing at Haruhi with an odd spark in his eyes.

Haruhi felt a bit stiff back there. She sighed.

"Well, actually, I want to tell you something, guys." she blurted and took something from her pocket.

* * *

**FLASHBACK:**

_Kyouya sighed after noticing Misaki and her wet school bag. He fixed his glasses which tilted onto his face and went back to his seat. Just in time, Haruhi, who was standing by the window, noticed Kyouya. She walked towards the silent male and sat beside him._

_"Kyouya-sempai, there's something I want to ask you...if you don't mind." she said directly._

_"Go ahead, Haruhi." Kyouya said._

_Haruhi took something from her pants' pocket and showed it to Kyouya. It was a photograph._

_Kyouya took a good look at the colored photograph and smiled._

_"These girls were members of the Ouran High School Drama Club. No wonder why their faces looked familiar. Also, I've found out that their parents were prominent celebrities in the country's show business." Kyouya explained._

_"These girls made a commotion at the refectory days ago. A few of my classmates were there during the scene, saying that these girls bullied a female student and poured water on her. Kyouya-sempai, the girl that these girls were bullying..." Haruhi paused and bit her lip in hesitation._

_"Haruhi..." Kyouya uttered._

_"Kyouya-sempai...that girl was Misaki." Haruhi said._

_Dead silence._

* * *

"Seriously, Boss. We have to do something about this." the Hitachiin twins said in chorus without hesitation.

Honey and Mori nodded as they just listened at their co-hosts all throughout the conversation.

Kyouya looked at Tamaki and smiled.

"Do you have something in mind, Mommy?" he asked with a sly grin.

Tamaki laughed lightly and faced the Host Club.

"Well...I think I have one, Daddy." he said softly, grinning.


	8. A Special Summoning Part 2

The grand clock tower signaled 8:30.

The green grass was neatly mowed at the Ouran Academy school gardens. There were tall trees and luscious bushes around, along with those flowers blossoming with beauty and life while emitting their sweet fragrances into the air.

As expected, the high school building of the Academy stood with pride and elegance under the sun, its concrete walls seemingly sparkling with the warm light. The sky was undeniably blue; cherry blossoms were seen shedding its rosy petals, letting them dance and swirl with the wind.

Indeed, another beautiful day has started already.

Everything seemed fine. Things are doing well...suddenly...

_BOOM!_

Something exploded.

Thick smoke appeared and came out of a window at the ground floor on the right side of the Ouran High School Building. Not long after, the smoke alarm rang noisily and loudly.

Pretty soon, the students who were having their classes at the ground floor ran out of the said building scarily and nervously. The others who were at the upper floors peeped through the glass windows, wondering what's going on. The anxiety was obviously seen on their faces; they were also curious what caused the explosion. Some of the teachers went out of the building too and took care of the students outside.

Someone shouted:

_"HEY! GET THE FIRE EXTINGUISHER! QUICK!"_

Thankfully, the smoke disappeared though it took quite a long time to get rid of it.

Afterwards, the clock tower struck 9:00.

* * *

"Misaki-chan, are you alright?"

"Yeah...I think."

"Here, I'll lend you my handkerchief. You need to wipe that dirt off your face."

"T-Thanks, Kurakano-san."

Misaki wiped her face gently with Momoka's handkerchief. Apparently, her face was a total mess. Even her long, black hair was messy. Though on the outside, Misaki's face seemed calm, her emotions were telling the opposite of what her face looked like.

Well, she had been called by a classmate of hers to come at the faculty room and make an explanation about what happened at the Chemistry room a while ago.

Misaki sighed heavily and scowled. Momoka patted the other female's shoulder and looked at her with concern as they were walking along the hallway.

"Next time, you should be more careful, Misaki-chan. There are dangerous, flammable chemicals inside the laboratory, you know. You almost knocked the school down with that loud explosion." she said.

"I know. I haven't read the instructions well, I guess. I like Chemistry, but I think it doesn't like me back that much." Misaki told Momoka and slightly glanced at the window, staring at the white puffy clouds floating on the sky outside.

"Don't say that! You're getting good grades at it, despite the fact that you fail at our experiment tests most of the time. We're lucky that our Chemistry teacher has a kind heart. She's always concerned about your performance in class." Momoka said.

These statements made Misaki scowled again. She chuckled lightly.

"So, I guess I have to thank her for the consideration, then. But, I think now's not the perfect time for that. I think she's pretty mad at me for what I have done to our lab." she said.

"Well, honestly, I never thought that you could make explosives without reading instructions on how to make them, Misaki-chan." the other young lady said teasingly.

"Whether what you told me just now was a compliment or not, I want to thank you for it, Kurakano-san...seriously." Misaki said back with her lips pouted.

"Plus, the fact that you overused the fire burner, it made things worse." Momoka said again, this time, she was giggling.

Misaki twitched her eyes and smiled a bit. "Yeah, yeah."

Momoka grinned at Misaki sweetly and suddenly pointed her finger to a certain door.

"Here we are." she said.

Misaki felt a lump in her throat as she watched Momoka opening the door by turning the knob. Really, she was dead nervous about this.

* * *

With three thick Chemistry books in her hands, Misaki stepped out of the faculty office with a staggered face. Just by looking at those books made her stomach upset. She slightly glanced at the glass window, noticing those sin rays passing through the glossy colored glass.

"Why me? Why does it have to be me?" Misaki thought until she sighed heavily.

She walked along the aisle when her classmates, who were just chatting by the corner, stared at her scarily.

Misaki sighed again and continued walking.

_"GYYYAAAAHHH! I'M SCARED!"_

_"THAT SHADOW BEHIND HER IS MOVING!"_

_"COULD SOMEBODY JUST GET US OUT OF HERE, PLEASE?!"_

* * *

**LUNCH BREAK**

The Host Club is in the middle of their "business", while Misaki stayed at the pantry. She was almost done baking her special homemade cookies for dessert, so she planned to prepare tea next while guarding her cookies, watching them being cooked well inside the oven.

It's been ages since she lastly baked homemade cookies-actually, that happened five years ago. She was still ten when she made those cookies for her parents on their wedding anniversary. Thanks to her mother, who taught her how to cook in an early age, she finally made her first recipe into a finished product.

However...that was five years ago.

While in the midst of her thoughts, Misaki never noticed Honey entering in the pantry. The adorable blonde male exclaimed with delight when he saw the cookies in the oven. He tugged Misaki's sleeve happily.

"THOSE ARE JAPANESE ALMOND COOKIES, RIGHT, MISA-CHAN?!" Honey said as he looked at the cookies, that joyful spark in his eyes clearly obvious.

Misaki nodded.

"Y-Yeah, you're right, Honey-sempai. Oh! Time to get these out of the oven." she said after hearing the "TING" sound coming from the oven, meaning that the cookies are already baked. She put on a pair of mittens and took the tray of Japanese almond cookies out of the heating oven.

Honey coincidentally smelled the delicious aroma of those finely-baked treats and clasped his hands.

"WOW! I WANNA TRY ONE! CAN I HAVE JUST ONE COOKIE, PLEASE?" Honey pleaded, looking at Misaki with his usual cute brown eyes, his "loli-shota" aura mode switching on.

"Of course, sempai. Here, take this." Misaki replied and gave a cookie to the short male.

Honey's eyes opened wide delightfully. He never thought that Misaki could make delicious cookies such as these almond cookies. After taking the first bite, he couldn't deny that those cookies taste great and delicious. He blinked his eyes and faced Misaki.

"Thank you, Misa-chan! You made my day today!" the male shouted and instantly hugged Misaki, just like how a child hugs her mother warmly.

Misaki yelped when Honey embraced her; a weird emotion suddenly filled her chest. For the first time, she felt this light and warm feeling that she had never experienced before: it was the filling of satisfaction and happiness that she made someone happy. She never thought how wonderful that feeling was...but then, as expected of Misaki, she ignored that feeling. And that light emotion had turned into a heavy one.

She shook her head and slightly smiled.

"You're great, Misa-chan! Wouldn't you mind if you'll teach me how to make these?" Honey asked as he let go of her warm, friendly hug.

"A-Ah, yes, that'll be great." Misaki uttered abruptly and looked at Honey with mixed emotions.

Misaki took out some plates and placed the baked cookies in a neat but fashionable way. Just in time, the tea was already set.

"Let's go, Misa-chan!" Honey told her as he walked out of the pantry first, and then waited for Misaki outside.

Misaki nodded.

* * *

As always, the members of the Host Club were busy attending their clients with their exclusive services:

They can't help falling in love with Tamaki's "prince-like" aura and approach to them, treating them as his dear and lovely princesses.

The young ladies also admired Kyouya's cool and witty personality; his sophisticated yet empowering aura knocked their hearts out in love while they watch him scribbling something onto his notepad and talking with them at the same time.

The girls also couldn't resist themselves as they see the Hitachiin twins showing their "forbidden brotherly love" schemes again. The gorgeous yet dangerous combination of the twins (the good looks and their devilish, mischievous personalities, plus, the "forbidden relationship") made them damn popular among the girls.

Others were too amazed at the student prodigy, Honey, who was known as a cute male who loves cute things and has a sweet smile; indeed...the girls are always watching out for his cute tantalizing eyes and his childish voice as he always asks for cake (which, of course, made them shout like crazy in total happiness).

Even the other girls couldn't comprehend the beauty and striking appeal of Mori's "silent and strong" personality, thus their cheeks kept on blushing like tomatoes as they watched him practicing _kendo_ in front of them.

Many of these girls are also watching out for the newbie, Haruhi, who was known as the "natural type" of the club, because of her warm, happy smile and happy approach to them; truly, these girls know how it feels like hanging out with the handsome (or should we say...beautiful) male (or...FEMALE?!) of the Host Club.

Yes...this is such the scenario that the club's underdog, Misaki Tainaka has to experience everyday. But, seriously, after the incident when she helped a female student who got a terrible flu, she became famous too...somehow.

Some of the girls considered her as the Host Club's doll for her scary yet striking good looks (which honestly for her, was quite disturbing and threatening). A few guests who frequently visit the Host Club see her as a daunting but fascinating specimen, a rare individual who was placed in a world of the ordinary.

Despite the fact that some are interested at her, most of them still can't get over with her "horrifying" persona. They were disgusted of her tastes and preferences. They hated how the way she walks on her way to class; they despised how scary she looks every time; most of all, they couldn't fight their fears every time she looks at them with those blank eyes and an expressionless face. Plus the fact that her skin was really fair, they can't help but to think of ghosts and restless spirits who look scary and ominous as her.

They thought that she isn't a girl...rather, she is not human based on her behavior. Rumors seemed to spread around the school; people began wondering how pathetic it was for the Ouran Academy to accept such an unladylike, low-profile young woman...like her.

Such thoughts made the young black-haired girl tremble for a while. As long as she's in this club, she doesn't have an option. She must pay her million yen debt until the last cent or else, it'll be the end.

Misaki entered the pantry to get another tray of Japanese almond cookies that she made. By the time she stepped out of the pantry, Misaki was unexpectedly greeted by a pair of dark eyes, staring at her calmly but strikingly.

"Misaki, may I have a word with you for a moment?" the masculine voice told her.

Misaki just nodded. "S-Sure, Sempai."

* * *

"Where's Misa-chan?" Honey asked with wonder while munching a Japanese almond cookie in his hand. His eyes blinked when he realized that he had just finished eating the whole plate. Then, he pouted and gave the empty plate to Mori.

"Takashi, I want more of Misa-chan's cookies!" he said childishly, looking at the taller guy with his cute eyes.

Mori sighed and simply took the plate and left.

Hikaru and Kaoru glanced at Honey; apparently they were on their usual business again. Haruhi, who was sitting between the twins, fixed the collar of her uniform and faced Honey.

"Oh, I saw her and Kyouya-sempai talking at the pantry a while ago." she answered.

"Kyouya-sempai?" the Hitachiin twins said together, blinking their eyes with amusement.

Haruhi nodded.

Kyouya and Misaki entered the scene.

"MISA-CHAN, WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?!" Honey exclaimed as he ran towards the lady and embraced her like a lost child hugging his mother.

As expected, Misaki was shocked. However, she remained still and just raised her hand to hold Honey's head and stroke it gently. A small smile crept upon her face.

"Hey, Sempai! How's it going? I've heard that you're going to stay at Bali for the weekend." Kaoru said towards Kyouya.

Kyouya nodded. "Yes, it's true. My father called me yesterday, saying that I must head there on Friday evening. Family business, as usual."

"So...how about all of us will go after you, huh? That'll be fun! It's a long time since we haven't had a long break from this thing!" Hikaru said, smiling.

Misaki listened at the Host Club's conversation attentively. Honestly, this type of conversation was slightly intimidating. These guys just don't realize how much a trip to Bali would cost. Anyway, they're a bunch of rich guys; they have all the money they want to spend in such luxuries...well except for Haruhi, of course! However, it's a good thing (on the bright side of it) that these guys want to spend the weekend together.

While listening to the conversation quietly, she never noticed that somebody tapped her shoulder.

Misaki blinked and saw the twins staring at her. Even Tamaki, Kyouya and the rest of the hosts were looking at her.

"H-Hey, are you OK?" Haruhi asked with concern (she was the one who tapped Misaki's shoulder).

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine." Misaki said.

"Hey, I think the impact of that explosion at the lab is still into Yurei-chan." Hikaru whispered to Kaoru.

Kaoru nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I think so."

* * *

**AFTER CLASS...**

The grand clock struck four in the afternoon.

Everybody went out of the school building with their school bags and books, walking on their way home.

As for the Host Club underdog, Misaki decided to go to the library to borrow a Chemistry book. With a sigh, she walked in and approached the kind-hearted librarian. As expected the librarian got the thing that she need. In a while, Misaki stepped out of the library and walked along the hallway.

She walked and walked until she passed through the Drama Club's office. Suddenly, she felt these shivers running through her spine; goosebumps made the pores of her skin freeze like cold ice. Misaki took a deep breath and continued walking, until somebody called her name loudly.

"MISAKI!"

Misaki turned around and saw a familiar female standing meters apart from her. The persona walked forward, getting closer...and closer. The young lady stopped walking and looked at Misaki with a fierce stare, wearing a grin upon her face. The black-haired female blinked. She let out a straight, "It's you."

"It's been a long time...Misaki Tainaka." the feminine voice said strongly.

* * *

Kyouya was busy typing something on his laptop when a pop-up screen showed up on the monitor. He clicked the button, and a short message appeared:

_What did you got? -Haruhi_

Kyouya instantly replied:

___I need further investigation to clear our thoughts about this thing. For the meantime, Tamaki told me to keep on researching._

It took a few seconds before the pop-up screen showed up again:

_I wonder what Tamaki-sempai's thinking. What is he going to do? -Haruhi_

The male grinned slightly and typed:

_Whatever that may be, I'm sure Tamaki won't let this thing happen again. Misaki must be feeling disturbed about this, though she doesn't tell us anything. _

The pop-up screen appeared after Kyouya typed his message:

_Everything will be fine, Sempai. I'm sure Tamaki, you and I are not the only ones in this. -Haruhi_

Kyouya typed again:

_Yes, I know._

After that short chat. Kyouya placed his laptop aside for a moment and rested his back onto his chair. He closed his eyes for a while and sighed.

* * *

Misaki closed her eyes. She tossed and turned on her bed, feeling uneasy. She never thought that this was happening to her. In fact, that encounter way back at Ouran Academy a few hours ago troubled her. No, rather, she wasn't that troubled. Slightly, somehow.

She looked at her alarm clock and sighed. Then her eyes gazed upon the ceiling; she remained quiet.

* * *

_**FLASHBACK...**_

_"It's you."  
_

_"It's been a long time...Misaki Tainaka."  
_

_Misaki saw a young female student about her age. Her curly locks look perfectly fit with her fair, angelic face. She is fairly a few centimeters taller than Misaki; her sapphire blue eyes were staring __fiercely at Misaki, along with a small smile on her face._  


_Misaki looked at the recognizable young lady; the other lady looked back at her.  
_

_"So, how's your stay here? Did you like it?" the woman told her.  
_

_"Do I have to answer that?" Misaki replied sternly.  
_

_"It's your choice." the woman answered.  
_

_"By the way, I would like to thank you for throwing my bag out of the window last time. I really appreciate the fact that you and your friends gave me a warm welcome here." Misaki said._

_"Really? Well, that's good to hear. I thought that you're going to do the same to us. That was unexpectedly strange of you." the lady spoke.  
_

_Misaki sighed.  
_

_"What's so strange about that?" she asked.  
_

_"Where did you left your courage, Misaki? Did you dump it somewhere else? I always thought you were the brave type." she said.  
_

_"I'm not the same girl that you once knew, Ms. Aiko Yomura. I already dumped it a long time ago." Misaki replied.  
_

___The woman chuckled and folded her arms snugly. Her blue eyes looked fiercer than before while looking at Misaki, her smile faded abruptly._

_"I'm telling you now, Ghost Girl...once you try laying a finger on me, I'll make sure that your life will become miserable. You are going to walk out of this building in no time and you will never, ever come back here. I'll assure you that." she said.  
_

_Misaki never said anything; the young female leaned closer to her and whispered in her ear.  
_

___"I'll tell the entire school about your secret." she said and lifted her head away from Misaki.  
_

_Misaki's eyes opened wide. She felt her heart stopped beating after hearing those words; she felt like she can't breath. However, she tried to remain calm and just stared at the young woman straightly.  
_

_"I think that's a great idea." Misaki said and let out a smile.  
_

_"What the hell?" the woman muttered shockingly.  
_

_"Let me give you a piece of advice: If I were you, I wouldn't dare doing that. We all have secrets. I may have a horrible one, but yours is the most horrible secret that I knew. If you know what I mean." Misaki said, smiling slightly.  
_

_The blonde young woman clenched her fists angrily, her eyes seemed blazing with wrath. She let out a scowl and laughed evilly. _

_"Don't make me laugh, Misaki!" she said and pulled something from her bag pack. Afterwards, she threw the thing to Misaki.  
_

_It was an invitation card.  
_

_Misaki kept quiet while looking at the invitation card. Not long after, she saw two female students running hurriedly.  
_

_"AIKO!" they shouted as they approached the angry blonde lady worried.  
_

_"I'll be expecting you. Don't fail me." Aiko (the blonde girl's name) said and grinned forcefully. She turned around and walked away, leaving her two friends behind. The two girls stared at Misaki for a while and followed Aiko behind.  
_

_The grand clock struck 4:15 in the afternoon.  
_

* * *

"I hate this." Misaki mumbled and covered herself with her blanket.

Suddenly, a knock on the door was heard. Misaki rose up and headed for the knob, opening it slowly.

Surprisingly, nobody was outside her small apartment unit, except a white envelope was seen on top of the doormat. Misaki bent down and picked up the envelope. She noticed that familiar seal on it.

"I can't believe this." Misaki muttered and closed the door.

* * *

**A/N: Awwww...sorry for the late update, folks! I need to do some important tasks and actually...I need to manage my time properly, so that I'll have time to update my stories. Thank a lot for reading this fanfiction and rest assured that I'll do my best to update this as soon as I can.**

**Until next chapter, guys! CIAO! God bless you all!  
**


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